tihrary  of  Che  trheclojicd  ^emmarjo 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

Dr.  Francis  L.  Pat ton 

3Sa4?J 


IMAGO    CHRISTI 


IMAGO    CHRISTl 


THE  EXAMPLE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 


BY 


REV.  JAMES   STALKER,  U.  A., 

AUTHOR  OF  "  THE  LIFE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST,"  "  THE  LIFE  OF  ST.  PAUL, 

ETC. 


Imago  dicitur  quasi  iinitago. 

Porphyr.  Hor.  Od.  I.  xii.  4. 


INTRODUCTION   BY  REV,  WM.   M    TAYLOR,  D   D,  LL.  D. 


JiTen'  York: 
A.    C.    ARMSTRONG   &   SON 

714  BROADWAY. 
1890. 


175 


COPYRIGHT,  18S9, 
BV   A.  C.  ARMSTRONG  &  SON. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  author  of  the  following  volume  is  one  j1 
the  most  eminent  of  the  younger  ministers  of  the 
Free  Church  of  Scotland.  Educated  in  his  native 
land,  he  spent  some  time  in  Germany,  prosecuting 
there  such  studies  as  he  judged  to  be  best  fitted  to 
prepare  him  for  his  li^e-work  in  the  ministry  of 
the  gospel. 

He  began  his  pastoral  labors  in  Kirkcaldy,  Fife- 
shire,  and  while  there  attracted  wide  attention  by 
his  eloquence  as  a  preacher  and  his  excellence  as 
an  expositor  of  the  Word  or  God.  Two  or  three 
years  ago  he  was  called  to  Free  St.  IMatthew's 
Church,  Glasgow,  where  by  all  he  is  "esteemed 
very  highly  in  love  for  his  work's  sake."  He 
/Occupies  there  a  place  of  commanding  influence, 
and  by  his  labors  among  young  people  and  his 
active  sympathy  with  evangelistic  work,  he  is  prov- 
ing himself  eminently  useful. 

All  who  were  present  at  the  Belfast  meeting  of 
the  Presbyterian  Alliance  recognized  his  ability  in 
dealing  with  a  difficult  subject;  and  his  volumes  on 


b  INTRODUCTION. 

the  "Life  of  Christ"  and  the  "Life  of  St.  Paul," 
though  issued  under  the  unpretending  title  of 
hand-books,  are  remarkable  for  their  originality 
of  method,  clearness  of  style,  comprehensiveness 
of  view,  and  suggestiveness  of  matter. 

The  same  qualities  are  conspicuous  in  his  treat- 
ment, in  "Imago  Christi,"  of  the  example  of 
Christ,  a  subject  which  he  has  handled  in  a  way 
entirely  his  own  and  in  a  spirit  of  devoutest  rever- 
ence. We  commend  the  work  as  equally  fitted  to 
be  a  companion  for  the  closet  and  a  directory  for 

the  life. 

WM.  M.  TAYLOR. 
New  York,  Nov.  23,  1889. 


PREFACE. 

T  F  it  were  permissible,  I  could  truly  describe  the 
-'-  origin  of  this  book  in  the  very  words  of 
Bunyan  : 

When  at  the  first  I  took  my  pen  in  hand 
Thus  for  to  write,  I  did  not  understand 
That  I  at  all  should  make  a  little  book 
In  such  a  mode ;  nay,  I  had  undertook 
To  make  another ;  which,  when  almost  done, 
Before  I  was  aware,  I  this  begun. 

Whilst  writing  my  Life  of  Christ,  and  reading 
extensively  on  the  subject,  the  conviction  was  borne 
in  upon  me  that  no  desideratum  more  urgently 
needs  to  be  supplied  in  our  theology  than  a  work 
on  the  Mind  or  Teaching  of  Christ.  For  several 
years  I  have  been  working  at  this  task.  But,  as 
I  went  on,  my  progress  was  impeded  by  the  fact 
that,  especially  in  the  department  of  ethics,  Jesus 
seemed  to  teach  as  much  by  His  example  as  by 
His  words ;  whereas  it  was  my  intention  to  derive 


8  PREFACE, 

His  teaching  from  His  words  alone.  I  commenced 
accordingly  to  write  a  little  on  His  example, 
merely  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  the  surplus 
material  out  of  the  way,  and  without  any  thought 
that  it  would  extend  beyond  a  chapter  or  two. 
But,  as  I  wrote,  it  grew  and  grew,  till,  almost 
unawares,  the  plan  of  a  new  book  shaped  itself 
in  my  mind.  Recurring  to  the  quaint  and  pithy 
language  of  Bunyan,  I   may  say  : 

Having  now  my  method  by  the  end, 

Still,  as  I  pulled,  it  came  ;  and  so  I  penned 

It  down  ;  until  it  came  at  last  to  be, 

For  length  and  breadth,  the  bigness  which  you  see. 

The  plan  of  this  book,  as  it  thus,  so  to  speak, 
made  itself,  is — to  divide  the  circle  of  human  life 
into  segments,  each  of  which  represents  an  extensive 
sphere  of  experience  and  duty,  and  then  to  follow 
our  Lord  through  them  one  after  another,  in  order 
to  see  how  He  conducted  Himself  in  each  and 
thereby  learn  how  to  conduct  ourselves  in  the 
same.  It  is  thus  a  kind  of  Christian  Ethics  with 
a  practical  and  devotional  aim.  By  making  the 
segments  smaller,  the  chapters  might  easily  have 
been  increased  in  number ;  but  perhaps  no  very 
important  part  of  life  has  been  entirely  overlooked. 


PREFACE.  9 

Each  chapter  has  been  written  in  full  view  of 
the  whole  of  our  Lord's  behaviour,  as  far  as  it 
has  been  recorded,  in  the  department  of  human 
life  to  which  it  refers ;  and  it  was  at  one  time 
my  intention  to  print  in  full,  from  the  Gospels, 
all  the  evidence  on  each  head.  I  soon  found, 
however,  that  this  would  be  impracticable,  for  the 
evidence  turned  out  to  be  far  more  voluminous 
than  I  had  any  conception  of ;  and  to  print  it  in 
full  would  have  swelled  the  book  to  double  its  size. 
It  has  been  to  me  a  continual  astonishment  to  find 
how  abundant  are  the  materials  for  tracing  out  our 
Lord's  example  even  in  what  may  be  considered 
the  less  important  parts  of  life  ;  and  I  thankfully 
confess  that  I  have  derived  from  this  study  a  new 
impression  of  the  wealth  which  is  packed  into  the 
narrow  circumference  of  the  Four  Gospels.  On 
the  flyleaf  of  each  chapter  I  have  noted  a  number 
of  the  more  important  passages  ;  and  this  list, 
although  in  no  case  complete,  may  serve  as  a 
starting-point  to  those  who  may  wish  to  collect 
the  evidence  for  themselves. 

I  am  persuaded  that  there  are  many  at  present 
in  all  the  churches  who  are  turning  earnest  eyes 
to    the    Example    of    Christ,    and    who    desire    an 


lO  PREFACE. 


account,  derived  directly  from  the  records,  of  how 
He  lived  this  earthly  life  which  we  are  living 
now.  They  have  awakened  to  the  value  and 
solemnity  of  time,  and  feel  that  the  one  thing 
needful  is  to  fill  our  few  and  swiftly  passing  years 
with  a  life  large  and  useful  and  ever  more  abundant. 
But  it  must  be  a  life  like  Christ's,  for  His  was  the 
best ;  and  any  life,  however  filled  with  excitement 
or  success,  of  which  He  disapproved,  would  not 
seem  to  them  worth  living.  For  such  I  have 
written  this  guide  to  the  imitation  of  Christ,  and 
I  send  it  forth  with  the  earnest  hope  that  they 
may  be  able  to  find  in  it,  in  some  degree,  the 
authentic  features  of  the  image  of  the  Son  of 
man. 


Glasgow,  September  2nd,  1889. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER 

I.    INTRODUCTORY  :    THOMAS   A.    KEMPIS'  IMITATION 


II.    CHRIST   IN   THE   HOME 

III.  CHRIST   IN   THE   STATE 

IV.  CHRIST   IN   THE   CHURCH 
V.   CHRIST   AS   A   FRIEND    . 

VI.   CHRIST   IN   SOCIETY 
VII.   CHRIST   AS   A   MAN   OF   PRAYER 
VIII.   CHRIST  AS   A   STUDENT   OF  SCRIPTURE 
IX.   CHRIST   AS   A  WORKER 
X.   CHRIST  AS   A  SUFFERER.        .  . 

XI.   CHRIST   AS   A   PHILANTHROPIST     . 
XII.   CHRIST  AS   A   WINNER   OF   SOULS 

XIII.  CHRIST  AS   A   PREACHER 

XIV.  CHRIST   AS   A   TEACHER 
XV.   CHRIST   AS   A   CONTROVERSIALIST 

XVI.    CHRIST  AS   A   MAN   OF   FEELING   . 
XVII.    CHRIST   AS   AN    INFLUENCE   . 


PAGE 
CHRIST       13 

•  35 

•  55 

•  71 
.  91 
.  109 
.  125 
.  145 
.  165 
.  183 
.  201 
.  221 
.  241 
.  261 
.  281 
.  299 

•  315 


INTRODUCTORY: 
THOMAS   A   KEMPIS'  IMITATION  OF  CHRIST 


But  Thomas  a  Kempis  ? — the  name  had  come  across  her  in  her 
reading,  and  she  felt  the  satisfaction,  which  every  one  knows,  of  get  tin? 
some  ideas  to  attach  to  a  name  that  strays  solitary  in  the  memory. 
She  took  up  the  little  old  clumsy  book  with  sofne  curiosity :  it  had  the 
corners  turned  down  in  many  places,  and  some  hand,  now  for  ever 
quiet,  had  made  at  certain  passages  strong  pen-and-ink  marks,  long 
since  browned  by  time.  Maggie  turned  from  leaf  to  leaf,  and  read 
where  the  quiet  hand  pointed.  .  .  . 

A  strange  thrill  of  awe  passed  through  her  while  she  read,  as  if  she 
had  been  wakened  in  the  night  by  a  strain  of  soletnn  music,  telling  of 
beings  whose  souls  had  been  astir  while  hers  was  in  stupor.  .  .  .  She 
knew  nothing  of  doctrines  and  systems — of  mysticis??t  or  quietism  ;  but 
this  voice  out  of  the  far-off  middle  ages  was  the  direct  communication 
of  a  himian  souPs  belief  and  expey  ience,  and  came  to  her  as  an  un- 
questioned message. 

J  suppose  that  is  the  reason  why  the  small  old-fashioned  book,  for 
which  you  need  only  pay  sixpence  at  a  bookstall,  works  mircules  to  this 
day,  turning  bitter  waters  into  sweetness  ;  while  expensive  sermons  and 
treatises,  newly  issued,  leave  all  things  as  they  were  before.  It  was 
written  down  by  a  hand  that  waited  for  the  hearPs  prompting ;  it  is 
the  chronicle  of  a  solitary,  hidden  anguish,  struggle,  trust,  and  triumph 
— not  written  on  velvet  cushions  to  teach  endurance  to  those  who  are 
treading  with  bleeding  feet  on  the  stones.  And  so  it  remains  to  all  time 
a  letting  record  of  hu7nan  needs  and  human  consolations. 

George  Eliot  :  The  Mill  on  the  Floss. 


CHAPTER   I. 
INTRODUCTORY. 

THOMAS  A  KEMPIS'  IMITATION   OF  CHRIST. 

NO  religious  book  perhaps,  outside  the  canon  of 
Scripture,  has  attained  so  wide  a  diffusion 
in  the  Christian  Church  as  the  De  Imitatione  Christi 
of  Thomas  a  Kempis.  The  only  other  book  which 
may  possibly  compete  with  it  in  popularity  is  the 
Pilgrim's  Progress.  But  the  hold  on  Christendom 
of  the  older  work  is  probably  more  extensive  than 
even  that  of  Bunyan's  masterpiece  ;  for,  whilst  the 
picture  of  Giant  Pope  must  be  an  obstacle  to 
the  access  of  the  Pilgrim  to  sensitive  Catholics, 
the  Imitation  is  as  much  read  among  Protestants 
as  in  the  Church  which  claims  it  as  its  own,  and 
in  the  Greek  Church  it  is  as  popular  as  in  either 
of  the  communions  of  the  West. 

I. 

To  Protestants  it  has  a  peculiar  interest  from 
the  very  fact  that  it  was  not  written  by  the  pen  of 
a   Protestant      It  belongs   to  the  beginning  of  the 


l6  IMAGO   CHRISTl. 

fifteenth  century,  and  its  author  flourished  a  hun- 
dred years  before  Luther.  It  thus  belongs  to  the 
age  which  must  be  accounted  the  darkest  in  the 
whole  history  of  Christianity,  when  the  light  of  God 
was  well-nigh  extinguished  by  the  errors  of  men. 
Protestants,  indeed,  hardly  think  of  the  century 
before  the  Reformation  as  a  time  when  Christianity 
existed  at  all ;  so  vast  is  the  accumulation  of 
corruptions  which  meets  the  eye,  that  the  reli- 
gion of  Christ  almost  seems  to  have  disappeared. 
But  this  single  book  corrects  this  impression.  The 
Imitation  of  Christ  is  a  voice  rising  out  of  the 
darkness  to  remind  us  that  the  Church  of  Christ 
never  ceased  to  exist,  but  that  God  had  His  witnesses 
and  Christ  His  lovers  even  in  the  era  of  deepest 
decay. 

The  Imitation  itself,'  indeed,  bears  marks  of  the 
evil  time  in  which  it  arose.  There  are  elements  of 
superstition  in  it  which  the  modern  mind  rejects. 
But  these  relics  of  a  corrupt  age  only  make  the 
profoundly  Christian  tone  of  the  whole  the  more 
surprising.  It  throbs  throughout  with  a  devotion 
to  Christ  which  will  find  its  way  to  the  hearts  of 
Christians  in  every  age  : 

O  my  beloved  Spouse  Christ  Jesus,  most 
pure  Lover,  Ruler  of  all  creation,  who  will 


INTROD  VCTOR  Y.  17 


give  me  the  wings  of  true  liberty  to  fly  and 
repose  in  Thee  ? 

O  Jesus,  Brightness  of  the  eternal  glory, 
Comfort  of  the  pilgrim  soul,  with  Thee  are 
my  lips  without  a  voice,  and  my  very  silence 
speaks  to  Thee. 

How  long  delays  my  Lord  His  coming  ? 
Let  Him  come  to  me.  His  poor  servant, 
and  make  me  glad.  Come,  come,  for  with- 
out Thee  there  will  be  no  glad  day  nor 
hour;  forThou  art  my.gladness,  and  without 
Thee  my  table  is  unspread. 

Let  others  seek,  instead  of  Thee,  what- 
ever else  they  please  ;  nothing  else  pleases 
me,  or  shall  please  me,  but  Thou,  my  God, 
my  Hope,  my  Eternal  Salvation. 

The  book  overflows  with  love  to  the  Saviour 
expressed  in  this  impassioned  strain  ;  and  one  very 
remarkable  thing  is  that,  on  the  whole,  the  soul  goes 
straight  to  Christ  without  halting  at  those  means  of 
grace  which  were  at  that  time  so  often  substituted 
for  the  Saviour  or  feeling  any  need  of  the  inter- 
cession of  the  Virgin  or  the  saints,  on  which  so  much 
stress   is  laid  in  Catholic  books  of  devotion.     This 


i8  IMAGO   CHRISTI, 


is  the  healthiest  feature  of  the  whole  production  and 
must  be  welcome  to  every  one  who  wishes  to  believe 
that  even  in  that  age,  when  the  spirit  was  buried 
beneath  the  forms  of  worship,  there  were  many  souls 
that  reached  up  through  all  obstacles  to  contact  with 
the  living  Saviour. 

II. 

Obscure  as  is  the  external  history  of  the  author 
of  the   Imitation^  the  reader  comes  to  be  on    the 

*  "  The  writer  of  the  Iitiitatio  Christi  is  not  known,  and 
perhaps  never  will  be  known,  with  absolute  certainty.  The 
dispute  about  the  authorship  has  filled  a  hundred  volumes,  and 
is  still  so  undecided  that  the  voice  of  the  sweetest  and  humblest 
of  books  has  come  to  us  mingled,  for  the  last  two  and  a  half 
centuries,  with  one  of  the  most  bitter  and  arrogant  of  literary 
controversies.  ...  Of  the  nine  or  ten  saints  and  doctors  to 
whom  at  different  times  the  work  has  been  attributed,  the 
pretensions  of  three  alone  can  be  now  said  to  possess  the  least 
germ  of  probability.  These  three  are  a  certain  Gersen  de 
Cabanis,  Thomas  Hemerken  of  Kempen,  and  Jean  de  Charlier 
de  Gerson ;  and  the  claims  of  the  first  of  the  three  .  .  .  may 
now  be  considered  to  be  set  at  rest. 

"  The  two,  then,  between  whom  rests  the  glory  of  the  author- 
ship— though  in  truth  earthly  glory  was  the  last  thing  for  which 
the  author  would  have  wished — are  Thomas  a  Kempis,  sub-prior 
of  the  monastery  of  St.  Agnes,  in  the  diocese  of  Cologne,  and 
Jean  Gerson,  Chancellor  of  the  University  of  Paris,  and  one 
of  the  grandest  figures  of  his  time. 

"  The  lives  of  both  these  saints  of  God  fell  in  the  same  dreary 
epoch.  It  was  that  '  age  of  lead  and  iron,'  of  political  anarchy 
and  ecclesiastical  degradation,  of  war,  famine,  misery,  agitation. 


INTROD  UCTOR  V.  19 


most  intimate  terms  with  him.  He  is  a  mere 
shadow  to  the  scientific  historian  ;  but  to  the  devout 
student  his  personaHty  is  most  distinct ;  his  accent 
is  separate  and  easily  detected  ;  and,  notwithstanding 
the  flight  and  passion  of  his  devotion,  there  is  in 
him  something  homely  and  kindly  that  wins  our 
affection.  Above  all,  we  feel,  as  we  open  the  book, 
that  we  are  entering  into  communion  with  one  who 
has  found  the  secret  of  life.      Here  is  one  who,  after 

corruption,  which  marked  the  close  of  the  fourteenth  and  the 
beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century.  Thomas  a.  Kempis,  born  in 
1379,  died  at  the  age  of  ninety-two;  Gerson,  born  in  1363,  died 
at  the  age  of  sixty-one.  They  were  thus  contemporaries  for 
forty-five  years  of  their  Hves.  But  the  destinies  of  the  two  men 
were  utterly  different. 

"  Thomas,  the  son  of  an  artisan,  a  quiet  recluse,  a  copier  of 
manuscripts,  was  trained  at  Deventer,  and  was  received  into  a 
monastery  in  the  year  1400  at  the  age  of  twenty-one.  In  that 
monastery  of  St.  Agnes — vaMe  devofus,  libenter  solus,  nitnquam 
otlosus — he  spent  seventy-one  years  of  perfect  calm,  unbroken 
except  by  one  brief  period,  in  which  he  fled  from  his  cell  rather 
than  acknowledge  an  archbishop  to  whom  the  Pope  had  refused 
the  pallium.  This  was  almost  the  sole  event  of  a  life  in  which 
we  are  told  that  it  was  his  chief  delight  to  be  alone  in  angello 
cu?n  libello. 

"Far  different  from  this  life,  'in  a  little  corner  with  a  little 
book,'  was  the  troubled,  prominent,  impassioned  life  of  Jeaji 
Gerson,  the  Doctor  Christianissimus.  Rising  while  yet  young 
to  a  leading  position,  he  was  appointed  Chancellor  of  the 
University  of  Paris  before  the  age  of  thirty,  and,  struggling 
against  popes  and  councils,  and  mobs  and  kings,  became  the 
stormiest  champion  of  a  stormy  time.  .  .  .  And  when  all  his  life 
seemed  to  have  culminated  in  one  long  failure  .  .  .  then  forced 


IMAGO   CHRISTL 


weary  wanderings,  such  as  we  perhaps  are  still 
entangled  in,  and  many  conflicts,  such  as  we  may 
still  be  waging,  has  attained  the  peace  of  God  ;  and 
he  takes  us  aside  and  leads  us  by  the  hand  to  view 
the  land  of  rest.  This  is  the  enduring  charm  of 
the  book.  We  all  carry  in  our  hearts  a  secret  belief 
that  somewhere  in  the  world  there  exists  a  paradise 
unvexed  with  the  cares  by  which  we  are  pursued 
and   watered    by   the  river  of  God  ;    and  whenever 

to  see  how  utterly  little  is  man  even  at  his  greatest,  and  how 
different  are  the  ways  of  man's  nothing-perfectness  from  those 
of  God's  all-completeness,  the  great  Chancellor,  who  has  been 
the  soul  of  mighty  councils  and  the  terror  of  contumacious 
popes,  takes  obscure  refuge,  first  in  a  monastery  of  Tyrol,  after- 
wards under  the  rule  of  his  brother  at  Lyons,  and  there,  among 
the  strict  and  humble  Celestine  monks,  passes  his  last  days  in 
humility  and  submission.  Far  other  thoughts  than  those  of  his 
tumultuous  life  had  been  revealed  to  him  as  he  wandered,  in 
danger  and  privation,  among  the  mountains  of  Bavaria, — or, 
rather,  those  earlier  objects  had  faded  from  the  horizon  of  his 
soul  like  the  burning  hues  of  a  stormy  sunset ;  but  as,  when  the 
sunset  crimson  has  faded,  we  see  the  light  of  the  eternal  stars, 
so  when  the  painted  vapours  of  earthly  ambition  had  lost  their 
colouring,  Gerson  could  gaze  at  last  on  those  '  living  sapphires  ' 
which  glow  in  the  deep  firmament  of  spiritual  hopes.  He 
had  been  a  leader  among  the  schoolmen,  now  he  cares  only  for 
the  simplest  truths.  He  had  been  a  fierce  gladiator  in  the  arena 
of  publicity,  now  he  has  passed  into  the  life  of  holy  silence.  At 
his  hottest  period  of  strife  he  had  cried  out,  '  Peace,  peace, 
I  long  for  peace ; '  now  at  last  there  has  fallen  on  his  soul — not 
as  the  world  giveth — that  peace  that  passeth  understanding." — 
Farrar  in  Companions  of  the  Devout  Life. 


INTRODVCTOR'i.  i\ 


one  appears  whose  air  assures  us  that  he  has 
lived  in  that  Eden  and  drunk  of  that  river,  we 
cannot  help  welcoming  him  and  listening  to  his 
message. 

But  where  is  this  happy  land  ?  It  is  not  far 
away.  It  is  in  ourselves :  "  The  kingdom  of  God 
is  within  you."  Men  seek  happiness  out  of  them- 
selves— in  riches  or  learning  or  fame,  in  friendships 
and  family  connections,  in  talking  about  others  and 
hearing  news.  They  roam  the  world  in  search  of 
adventures  ;  they  descend  to  the  bottom  of  the 
sea  and  tear  out  the  bowels  of  the  earth  in  pur- 
suit of  wealth  ;  they  are  driven  forth  by  turbulent 
passions  in  search  of  excitement  and  novelty  ;  they 
fight  with  one  another,  because  every  one,  dis- 
satisfied himself,  believes  that  his  brother  is  making 
away  with  his  share.  But  all  the  time  they  are 
stumbling  over  their  happiness,  which  lies  among 
their  feet ;  they  fly  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  in 
search  of  it,  and  lo  it  is  at  home. 

Whensoever  a  man  desires  anything  in- 
ordinately, he  is  presently  disquieted  v^rithin 
himself.  The  proud  and  covetous  are 
never  at  rest.  The  poor  and  humble  in 
spirit  live  in  abundance  of  peace. 


ii  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


We  might  have  much  peace,  if  we  would 
not  busy  ourselves  with  the  sayings  and 
doings  of  others,  and  with  things  which 
are  no  concern  of  ours. 

How  can  he  remain  long  in  peace  who 
entangles  himself  with  the  cares  of  others ; 
who  seeks  occasions  of  going  abroad,  and 
is  little  or  seldom  inwardly  recollected  ? 

First  keep  thyself  in  peace,  and  then 
thou  wilt  be  able  to  bring  others  to 
peace. 

A  good  peaceable  man  turns  all  things 
to  good.  Such  an  one  is  conqueror  of 
himself,  and  lord  of  the  world,  a  friend 
of  Christ,  and  an  heir  of  heaven. 

These  counsels  sound  like  many  that  the  world 
has  heard  from  others  of  its  teachers.  They  sound 
like  the  doctrines  of  the  Stoic  philosophers,  which 
ended  in  making  self  an  arrogant  little  god  ;  they 
sound  like  the  teaching  of  some  in  modern  times 
who,  looking  on  the  raising  of  "  the  pyramid  of  their 
own  being"  as  the  chief  end  of  existence,  have 
sacrificed  to  culture  the  rights  of  others  and  the 
most  sacred  obligations  of  morality.     The  doctrine 


INTRODUCTORY. 


that  the  interior  man  is  the  supreme  object  of  care 
may  turn  into  a  doctrine  of  arrogant  selfishness. 
But  a  Kempis  has  guarded  well  against  this  per- 
version. He  has  no  maxims  more  pungent  than 
those  directed  against  the  undue  exaltation  of  self. 
When  he  advises  us  to  turn  away  from  outward 
things  to  seek  the  true  wealth  and  happiness 
within,  it  is  not  in  ourselves  we  are  to  find  it, 
though  it  is  within  ourselves.  We  have  to  make 
an  empty  space  within,  that  it  may  be  filled  with 
God,  who  is  the  only  true  satisfaction  of  the 
soul : 

Know  that  the  love  of  thyself  doth 
hurt  thee  more  than  anything  else  in 
the  world. 

On  this  defect,  that  a  man  inordinately 
loves  himself,  hangs  almost  all  in  thee 
that  thou  hast  to  root  out  and  overcome ; 
and,  when  this  evil  has  been  once  con- 
quered and  brought  under,  soon  will  there 
be  great  peace  and  tranquillity. 

Christ  will  come  to  thee,  holding  out 
to  thee  His  consolation,  if  thou  prepare 
Him  a  fit  dwelling  within  thee. 

Many   a   visit   does    He    make   to   the 


24  IMAGO  CHRISTi. 


interior  man ;  sweet  is  His  communication 
with  him,  delightful  His  consolation,  great 
His  peace,  and  His  familiarity  exceedingly 
amazing.  Give  place,  then,  for  Christ, 
and  deny  entrance  to  all  others. 

When  thou  hast  Christ  thou  art  rich, 
and  He  is  sufficient  for  thee.  He  will 
provide  for  thee  and  faithfully  supply  thy 
wants  in  all  things,  so  that  thou  needest 
not  trust  to  men. 

"Son,"  says  Christ  to  us,  '"^  leave  thy- 
self, and  thou  shalt  find  ]^;!e." 

III. 

The  merits  of  a  Kempis  are  inimitable  and 
imperishable  ;  yet  the  book  is  not  without  defects 
more  or  less  inseparable  from  the  time  and  the 
circumstances  in  which  it  was  written. 

I,  There  is  a  defect  of  the  Imitation  which 
lies  on  the  surface  and  has  been  often  pointed 
out.  Its  author  was  a  monk  and  needed  a  rule 
only  for  the  little,  monotonous  world  of  the  cloister  ; 
we  live  in  the  freedom  and  amidst  the  perils  of  a 
larger  world,  which  needs  an  example  more  uni- 
versal.    To  a  Kempis  and  his  brcLliren  this  world 


INTRODUCTORY.  25 


was  the  territory  of  the  Evil  One,  from  which  they 

had   fled  ;  they   wished   to   have    no    dealings    with 

it    and  had   no  hope  of  making  it  better.      "  Thou 

oughtest,"   he     says,   "  to    be    so    far    dead    to    the 

affections  of  men   as  to  wish,  as  far  as   thou  canst, 

to  be   without  any   human    company."       Even    life 

itself    appeared   to    him    an    evil  :     in    one    of    his 

gloomiest  pages  he  says  expressly,  "  It   is   truly   a 

misery  to   live  upon  earth."       This  happily  is  not 

our  creed. 

The  world  is  not  a  blank  to  us, 
Nor  blot ;  it  means  intensely,  and  means  good. 

To  us  it  is  God's  world  ;  and  our  vocation  is  to 
make  God's  will  be  done  in  all  departments  of  its 
life  and  to  make  His  Word  run  on  all  its  highways 
and  bye-ways.  Monasticism  was  a  confession  on  the 
part  of  Christianity  of  being  beaten  by  the  world  ; 
but  to-day  Christianity  is  planting  its  standard 
on  every  shore  and  going  forth  conquering  and  to 
conquer. 

2.  Another  blemish  which  has  been  attributed  to 
it  is  thus  dealt  with  by  Dr.  Chalmers  in  one  of  his 
published  Letters  :  "  I  have  been  reading  Thomas 
a  Kempis  recently  on  the  Imitation  of  Jesus  Christ 
— a  very  impressive  performance.  Some  would  say 
of  it  that  it  is  not  enough  evangelical.  He  certainly 
does  not   often  affirm,  in   a    direct    and    ostensible 


26  IMAGO   CHRIS TI. 


manner,  the  righteousness  that  is  by  faith.  But 
he  proceeds  on  this  doctrine,  and  many  an  incidental 
recognition  does  he  bestow  upon  it  ;  and  I  am  not 
sure  but  that  this  implies  a  stronger  and  more 
habitual  settlement  of  mind  respecting  it  than 
when  it  is  thrust  forward  and  repeated,  and  re- 
repeated  with  a  kind  of  ultra-orthodoxy,  as  if  to 
vindicate  one's  soundness,  and  acquit  oneself  of  a 
kind  of  exacted  homage  to  the  form  of  sound 
words."  * 

This  is  both  a  generous  and  a  just  statement  of 
a  Kempis'  position  ;  though  a  simpler  explanation 
of  it  lies  in  the  fact  that  he  lived  a  hundred 
years  before  the  republication,  at  the  Reformation, 
of  this  cardinal  doctrine  of  the  Pauline  theology. 
But  it  is  a  point  of  the  greatest  practical  import- 
ance to  emphasize  that  in  experience  the  true  order 
is,  that  the  imitation  of  Christ  should  follow  the 
forgiveness  of  sins  through  the  blood  of  His  cross.t 

3.  There  is  another  great  Pauline  doctrine  which 
hardly  perhaps  obtains  in  a  Kempis  the  prominence 
which  belongs  to  it  in  connexion  with  his  subject. 
This   is  the  doctrine    of    union    with    Christ,   which 


*  Correspondence  of  Rev.  Thomas  Chalviers,  D.D.,  p.  81. 

fOn  this  point  see  the  singularly  lofty  and  weighty  statement 
of  Martensen,  On  the  Imitation  of  Christ  and  Justifying  Faith,  in 
his  Christiaji  Ethics,  vol.  i. 


tNTRODUCTORV.  i7 


may  be  called  the  other  pole  of  St.  Paul's  system. 
St.  Paul's  whole  teaching  revolves  between  the  two 
poles  of  righteousness  through  the  death  of  Christ 
for  us  and  holiness  through  the  life  of  Christ  in 
us.  The  latter  truth  is  not  absent  from  the  pages 
of  the  Imitation ;  but  its  importance  is  not  fully 
brought  out. 

For,  beautiful  as  the  phrase  "the  imitation  of 
Christ "  is,  it  hardly  indicates  the  deepest  way  in 
which  Christ's  people  become  like  Him.  Imitation 
is  rather  an  external  process  :  it  denotes  the  taking 
of  that  which  is  on  one  and  putting  it  on  another 
from  the  outside.  But  it  is  not  chiefly  by  such 
an  external  copying  that  a  Christian  grows  like 
Christ,  but  by  an  internal  union  with  Him.  If 
it  is  by  a  process  of  imitation  at  all,  then  it  is 
imitation  like  that  of  a  child  copying  its  mother. 
This  is  the  completest  of  imitations.  The  child 
reproduces  the  mother's  tones,  her  gestures,  the 
smallest  peculiarities  of  her  gait  and  movements, 
with  an  amazing  and  almost  laughable  perfection. 
But  why  is  the  imitation  so  perfect  }  It  may  be 
said  it  is  because  of  the  child's  innumerable  oppor- 
tunities of  seeing  its  mother,  or  because  of  the 
minuteness  of  a  child's  observation.  But  every  one 
knows  that  there  is  more  in  it  than  this.  The 
mother  is    in  her  child  ;  at  its  birth  she  communi- 


28  IMAGO   CHRISTl. 


cated  her  own  nature  to  it  ;  and  it  is  to  the 
working  in  the  child  of  this  mysterious  influence 
that  the  success  of  the  imitation  is  due.  In  like 
manner  we  may  carefully  copy  the  traits  of  Christ's 
character,  looking  at  Him  outside  of  us,  as  a 
painter  looks  at  his  model  ;  we  may  do  better  still — 
we  may,  by  prayer  and  the  reading  of  the  Word, 
live  daily  in  His  company,  and  receive  the  impress 
of  His  influence ;  but,  if  our  imitation  of  Him  is 
to  be  the  deepest  and  most  thorough,  something 
more  is  necessary  :  He  must  be  in  us,  as  the 
mother  is  in  her  child,  having  communicated  His 
own  nature  to  us  in  the  new  birth.* 

IV. 

There  is,  however,  a  defect  in  the  Imitation  which 
the  reader  of  to-day  feels  more  than  any  of  these : 
it  lacks  the  historical  sense,  which  is  the  guide  of 
the  modern  mind  in  every  kind  of  inquiry.  Though 
the  spirit  of  Christ  pervades  the  book  and  many 
of  its  chapters  are  so  full  of  the  essence  of  His 
teaching  that  they  might  be  appended  as  invaluable 
comments  to  His  sayings,  yet  it  presents  no  clear 
historical  image  of  Him. 

*  "  Christi  Vorbild  ist  mehr  als  kahles,  kaltes  Tugendbeispiel, 
es  ist  erwarmende,  erziindende  Lebensgemeinschaft." — Kogel, 
Predi^ten,  i.  86. 


INTRODUCTORY.  29 


This  would  seem,  however,  to  be  the  one  thing 
needful  for  successful  imitation.  If  we  are  to  try 
to  be  like  Christ,  we  must  know  what  He  was  like. 
No  painter  could  make  a  satisfactory  copy  of  a 
figure  of  which  he  had  himself  only  a  vague  con- 
ception. Yet  no  exact  image  of  Christ  will  be 
found  in  a  Kempis.  To  him  Christ  is  the  union 
and  sum  of  all  possible  excellences  ;  but  he  con- 
structs Christ  out  of  his  own  notions  of  excellence, 
instead  of  going  to  the  records  of  His  life  and 
painting  the  portrait  with  the  colours  they  supply. 
He  specifies,  indeed,  certain  great  features  of  the 
Saviour's  history — as,  for  instance,  that  in  becoming 
man  He  humbled  Himself,  and  therefore  we  ought 
to  be  humble  ;  or  that  He  lived  a  life  of  suffering, 
and  therefore  we  ought  to  be  willing  to  suffer ;  but 
he  does  not  get  beyond  these  generalities. 

Now,  it  is  possible  to  construct  out  of  the  Gospels 
a  more  lifelike  portrait  than  this.  It  is  possible  at 
present  as  it  has  never  been  in  any  former  age. 
Our  century  will  be  remembered  in  the  history  of 
Christian  thought  as  the  first  which  concentrated 
its  attention  on  the  details  of  the  Life  of  Christ. 
The  works  written  on  this  subject  in  recent  times 
have  been  without  number,  and  they  have  power- 
fully affected  the  mind  of  the  age.  The  course  of 
Christ's   life   on  earth   has   been    traced   from  point 


30  IMAGO  CHRIST/. 


to  point  with  indefatigable  patience  and  illustrated 
with  knowledge  from  every  quarter  ;  every  incident 
has  been  set  in  the  clearest  light ;  and  we  are  now 
able  to  follow  Him  as  it  has  never  been  possible  to 
do  before  into  every  department  of  life — such  as  the 
family,  the  state,  the  Church,  the  life  of  prayer,  the 
life  of  friendship,  and  so  on — and  to  see  exactly  how 
He  bore  Himself  in  each.  This  is  the  method  of 
knowing  Him  which  has  been  granted  to  our  age  ; 
and  to  be  content  to  know  Him  merely  as  a  vague 
image  of  all  possible  excellences  would  be  to  us 
like  painting  a  landscape  in  the  studio  from  mere 
general  conceptions  of  mountains,  rivers  and  fields, 
instead  of  going  direct  to  nature. 

Of  course  it  is  easy  to  exaggerate  the  value  of 
a  method.  Infinitely  more  important  always  are 
the  mind  and  heart  working  behind  the  method. 
The  glowing  love,  the  soaring  reverence,  the  range 
and  sublimity  of  thought  in  a  Kempis,  have  brought 
the  object  home  to  him  with  a  closeness  and  reality 
which  fill  every  sympathetic  reader  with  a  sacred 
envy  and  will  always  enchain  the  Christian  heart* 
Yet,  though  an  improved   method  is  not  everything, 


•  In  reading  the  Psalms,  who  has  not  coveted  the  nearness 
to  God  which  their  authors  attained,  and  the  splendid  glow  ol 
feeling  which  contact  with  Him  produced  in  them?  Who  has 
not  questioned  whether  he  has  ever  himself  penetrated  so  far 


INTRODUCTORY.  31 

it  is  something  ;  and,  if  we  feel  our  own  devotion 
to  be  cold,  and  the  wing  of  our  thought  feeble 
in  comparison  with  others,  all  the  more  ought  we 
to  grasp  at  whatever  advantage  it  may  be  able  to 
supply.  The  imitation  of  Christ  is  a  subject  which 
is  constantly  calling  for  reconsideration  ;  for  the 
evolution  of  history  and  the  progress  of  knowledge 
place  people  on  new  points  of  view  in  relation  to  it. 
Each  generation  sees  it  in  its  own  way,  and  the  last 
word  on  it  can  never  be  spoken.  The  historical 
method  of  handling  it  is  the  one  which  falls  in  with 
those  habits  of  thought  which  have  been  worn  into 
the  mind  of  our  age  by  its  vast  conquests  in  other 
directions  ;  and,  though  it  will  not  make  up  for  the 
lack  of  faith  and  love,  it  is  a  charisma  which  the 
Church  is  bound  to  use,  and  on  the  use  of  which 
God  will  bestow  His  blessing. 

V. 

It  can  hardly  be  said  that  evangelical  thought 
has  hitherto  claimed  this  subject  cordially  enough 
as  its  own.  The  evangelical  heart,  indeed,  has 
always  been  true  to  it.  I  have  sometimes  even 
thought  that  among  the  causes  of  the  popularity  of 

into  the  secret  of  the  Lord?  Yet  this  does  not  blind  us  to  the 
superior  freedom  and  fulness  of  access  to  the  divine  presence 
allowed  under  the  New  Testament. 


32  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


a  Kempis'  book  not  the  least  potent  is  its  mere 
name.  The  Imitation  of  Christ  !  the  veiy  sound 
of  this  phrase  goes  to  the  heart  of  every  Christian 
and  sets  innumerable  things  moving  and  yearning 
in  the  soul.  There  is  a  summons  in  it  like  a 
ravishing  voice  calling  us  up  sunny  heights.  It  is 
the  sum  of  all  which  in  our  best  moments  and 
in  our  deepest  heart  we  desire. 

But,  whilst  to  Christian  experience  the  imitation 
of  Christ  has  always  been  inexpressibly  precious, 
it  has  held,  in  evangelical  preaching  and  literature, 
on  the  whole,  only  an  equivocal  position.  The 
Moderatism  which  in  last  century  nearly  extin- 
guished the  religion  of  the  country  made  much 
of  the  example  of  Christ.  But  it  divorced  it  from 
His  atonement,  and  urged  men  to  follow  Christ's 
example,  without  first  making  them  acquainted  with 
Him  as  the  Saviour  from  sins  that  are  past.  The 
Evangelicals,  in  opposition  to  this,  made  Christ's 
atonement  the  burden  ot  their  testimony  and, 
when  His  example  was  mentioned,  were  ever  ready 
with.  Yes,  but  His  death  is  more  important.  Thus 
it  happened  that  the  two  parties  divided  the  truth 
between  them,  the  example  of  Christ  being  the 
doctrine  of  the  one  and  His  atoning  death  that 
of  the  other.  In  like  manner,  when  Unitarianism 
seemed     for    a    time,    through    the    high    character 


INTRODUCTORY.  33 


and  splendid  eloquence  of  Channing,  to  be  about 
to  become  a  power  in  the  world,  it  derived  nearly 
all  the  attractiveness  it  ever  possessed  from  the 
eulogies  in  which  its  preaching  abounded  of  the 
pure,  lofty  and  self-sacrificing  humanity  of  Christ. 
The  evangelical  Church  answered  with  demonstra- 
tions of  His  divinity,  scriptural  and  irresistibly 
logical  no  doubt,  but  not  always  very  captivating. 
And  thus  a  division  was  again  allowed  to  take 
place,  the  humanity  of  Christ  falling  to  the  one 
party  as  its  share  and  His  divinity  to  the  other. 
It  is  time  to  object  to  these  divisions.  Both 
halves  of  the  truth  are  ours,  and  we  claim  the 
whole  of  it.  The  death  of  Christ  is  ours,  and 
we  rest  in  it  our  hopes  of  acceptance  with  God 
in  time  and  in  eternity.  This  is  what  we  begin 
with  ;  but  we  do  not  end  with  it.  We  will  go  on 
from  His  death  to  His  life  and,  with  the  love 
begotten  of  being  redeemed,  try  to  reproduce  that 
life  in  our  own.  In  the  same  way,  whilst  glorying 
in  His  divinity,  we  will  allow  none  to  rob  us  of  the 
attraction  and  the  example  of  His  humanity  ;  for, 
indeed,  the  perfection  of  His  humanity,  with  what 
this  implies  as  to  the  value  of  His  testimony  about 
Himself,  is  the  strongest  bulwark  of  our  faith  that 
He  was  more  than  man. 


II. 

CHRIST   IN   THE   HOME. 


Matt.  viii.  14,  15.  Matt.  i. 

„      ix.  18-26.  ,,      ii. 

„      xvii.  18.  Luke   i.  26-56. 

„      xviii.  1-6.  ,,      ii. 

„      xix.  13-15.  „      iii.  23-38. 
Markjv.  18,  19. 

,,      xii.  18-25. 
Luke  vii.  11-15. 

,,      xi.  27,  28.  Matt.  xiii.  55-58. 

John    viii.  i-ii.  Luke   iv.  16,  22. 

„      xix.  25-27.  John    vi,  42. 

Matt.  xii.  46-50.  Mark   iii.  21, 

Luke  ix.  57-62.  John    vii.  3-9. 


CHAPTER  II. 
CHRIST   IN   THE   HOME. 


'T^HE    institution    of   the    family   affords   striking 
"^        illustrations  both  of  what  may  be  called  the 
element  of  necessity  and  of  what  may  be  called  the 
element  of  liberty  in  human   life. 

There  is  in  it  a  mysterious  element  of  necessity. 
Everyone  is  born  into  a  particular  family,  which 
has  a  history  and  character  of  its  own,  formed 
before  he  arrives.  He  has  no  choice  in  the  matter; 
yet  this  connection  affects  all  his  subsequent  life. 
He  may  be  born  where  it  is  an  honour  to  be 
born  or,  on  the  contrary,  where  it  is  a  disgrace. 
He  may  be  heir  to  inspiring  memories  and  refined 
habits,  or  he  may  have  to  take  up  a  hereditary 
burden  of  physical  and  moral  disease.  A  man 
has  no  choice  of  his  own  father  and  mother,  his 
brothers  and  sisters,  his  uncles  and  cousins  ;  yet 
on  these  ties,  which  he  can  never  unlock,  may 
depend    three-fourths    of   his    happiness    or    misery. 


38  IMAGO  CHRISTL 


The  door-bell  rings  some  night,  and,  going  out, 
you  see  on  the  doorstep  a  man  who  is  evidently 
a  stranger  from  a  strange  land.  You  know  nothing 
of  him  ;  he  is  quite  outside  the  circle  of  your 
interest ;  he  is  ten  thousand  miles  away  from  your 
spirit.  But,  if  he  can  say,  "  Don't  you  know  me  ? 
I  am  your  brother,"  how  near  he  comes — ten 
thousand  miles  at  one  step !  You  and  he  are 
connected  with  an  indissoluble  bond  ;  and  this 
bond  may  either  be  a  golden  clasp  which  is  an 
ornament  or  an  iron  clamp  which  burns  and 
corrodes  your  very  flesh.  This  is  the  element  of 
necessity  in  the  institution  of  the  family. 

Jesus  could  not  touch  humanity  without  being 
caught  in  this  fetter  of  necessity.  He  entered  its 
mysterious  circle  when  He  was  born  of  a  woman. 
He  became  a  member  of  a  family  which  had  its 
own  traditions  and  its  own  position  in  society ; 
and    He   had    brothers  and  sisters. 

These  circumstances  were  not  without  import- 
ance to  Him.  That  His  mother  exercised  an 
influence  upon  His  growing  mind  cannot  be 
doubted.  We  have  not,  indeed,  the  means  of 
tracing  in  much  detail  how  this  influence  acted, 
for  few  notices  of  His  early  years  have  come 
down  to  us  ;  but  it  may  be  noted  as  one  signifi- 
cant fact  that  Mary's  hymn,  the  so-called  Magnificat, 


CHRIST  IN  THE  HOME.  39 

in  which,  at  her  meeting  with  Elizabeth,  she  poured 
forth  the  sentiments  of  her  heart,  embodies  thoughts 
which  are  echoed  again  and  again  in  the  preaching 
of  Jesus.  This  production  proves  her  to  have  been 
a  woman  not  only  of  great  grace,  but  of  rare  natural 
gifts,  which  had  been  nourished  from  God's  Word, 
till  she  naturally  spoke  the  very  language  of  the 
prophets  and  the  holy  women  of  old.  We  may 
not  ascribe  too  much  to  her  and  Joseph,  but  we 
can  say  that  the  holy  childhood  of  Jesus  was 
reared  in  a  home  of  pious  refinement,  and  that 
there  were  marks  of  this  home  on  Him  after  He 
left  it 

Besides  this  influence,  He  was  born  to  a  long 
pedigree  ;  and  this  was  not  a  matter  of  indiffer- 
ence to  Him.  He  was  of  the  seed  of  David  ; 
and  the  Gospel  narrative  takes  pains  to  trace  His 
descent  in  the  royal  line — a  procedure  which  may 
be  regarded  as  an  echo  of  His  own  feeling. 
Noblesse  oblige  :  there  is  a  stimulus  to  noble  action 
supplied  by  noble  lineage  ;  and  Milton  is  not 
perhaps  overstepping  the  bounds  of  legitimate  infer- 
ence when,  in  Paradise  Regained^  he  represents  the 
mind  of  the  youthful  Saviour  as  being  stirred  to 
noble  ambition  by  the  memories  of  His  ancestors: 

Victorious  deeds 
Flamed  in  My  heart,  heroic  acts — one  while 
To  rescue  Israel  from  the  Roman  yoke  ; 


♦O  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 

Then  to  subdue  and  quell  o'er  all  the  earth 
Brute  violence  and  proud  tyrannic  power, 
Till  truth  was  freed  and  equity  restored. 

There  can  at  least  be  no  hesitation  in  believing 
that  His  royal  descent  pointed  out  His  way  to  the 
work  of  the  Messiah. 

He  had,  however,  also  to  feel  the  galling  of  the 
ring  of  necessity.  He  bore  the  reproach  of  mean 
descent  ;  for,  although  His  remoter  ancestry  was 
noble,  His  immediate  relatives  were  poor  ;  and,  when 
He  appeared  on  the  stage  of  public  life,  sneering 
tongues  asked,  "  Is  not  this  the  carpenter's  son  }  " 
His  life  is  the  final  rebuke  to  such  shallow  respect 
of  persons,  and  will  remain  for  ever  to  the  despised 
and  lowly-born  a  guide  to  show  how,  by  worth  of 
character  and  wealth  of  service  to  God  and  man, 
they  may  shut  the  mouths  of  gainsayers  and  win  a 
place  in  the  love  and  honour  of  the  world. 

The  element  of  liberty  which  belongs  to  human 
life  is  exhibited  no  less  conspicuously  than  the 
element  of  necessity  in  the  family,  and  is  equally 
mysterious.  Of  his  own  choice  a  man  enters  the 
married  state  and  founds  a  family  ;  and  by  this  act 
of  his  will  the  circle  is  fashioned  which  in  the  next 
generation  will  be  inclosing  other  human  beings  in 
the  same  bonds  of  relationship  into  which  he  has 
himself  been  born. 

Of  course  the  nature  of  the  case  prevented  Jesus 


CHRIST  IN  THE  HOME.  41 

from  being  the  founder  of  a  fannily  ;  and  this  has 
sometimes  been  pointed  to  as  a  defect  in  the 
example  He  has  left  us.  We  have  not,  it  is  said, 
His  example  to  follow  in  the  most  sacred  of  all  the 
relationships  of  life.  Undeniably  there  seems  to  be 
a  certain  force  in  this  objection.  Yet  it  is  a  singular 
fact  that  the  greatest  of  all  precepts  in  regard  to 
this  relationship  is  taken  directly  from  His  example. 
The  deepest  and  most  sacred  word  ever  uttered  on 
the  subject  of  marriage  is  this :  "  Husbands,  love 
your  wives,  even  as  Christ  also  loved  the  Church, 
and  gave  Himself  for  it  ;  that  He  might  sanctify 
and  cleanse  it  with  the  washing  of  water  by  the 
Word,  that  He  might  present  it  to  Himself  a 
glorious  Church,  not  having  spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any 
such  thing  ;  but  that  it  should  be  holy  and  without 
blemish."* 

II. 

Jesus  honoured  the  institution  of  the  family  all 
through  His  life. 

In  His  day  there  prevailed  in  Palestine  a  shameful 
dissolution  of  the  domestic  ties.  Divorce  was  rife 
and  so  easily  procured  that  every  trifle  was  made  an 
excuse  for  it ;  and  by  the  system  of  Corban  children 
were  actually  allowed  to  compound  by  a  payment  to 

*  Eph.  V.  25  ft. 


42  IMAGO    CHRISTI. 


the  Temple  for  the  neglect  of  their  own  parents. 
Jesus  denounced  these  abuses  with  unsparing  indig- 
nation and  sanctioned  for  all  the  Christian  ages  only 
that  law  of  marriage  which  causes  it  to  be  entered 
on  with  forethought,*  and  then,  when  the  relation- 
ship has  been  formed,  drains  the  deepest  affections 
of  the  heart  into  its  sacred  channel. 

His  own  love  of  children,  and  the  divine  words 
He  spoke  about  them,  if  they  cannot  be  said  to  have 
created  the  love  of  parents  for  their  children,  have  at 
all  events  immensely  deepened  and  refined  it.  The 
love  of  heathen  mothers  and  fathers  for  their  offspring 
is  a  rude  and  animal  propensity  in  comparison  with 
the  love  for  children  which  reigns  in  our  Christian 
homes.  He  lifted  childhood  up,  as  He  raised  so 
many  other  weak  and  despised  things,  and  set  it  in 
the  midst.      If  the  patter  of  little  feet  on  the  stairs 

*  "  He  who  attacks  marriage,  he  who  by  word  or  deed  sets 
himself  to  undermine  this  foundation  of  all  moral  society,  he 
must  settle  the  matter  with  me  ;  and,  if  I  don't  bring  him  to 
reason,  then  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  him.  Marriage  is  the 
beginning  and  the  summit  of  all  civilisation.  It  makes  the 
savage  mild  ;  and  the  most  highly  cultivated  man  has  no  better 
means  of  demonstrating  his  mildness.  Marriage  must  be 
indissoluble ;  for  it  brings  so  much  general  happiness,  that  any 
individual  case  of  unhappiness  that  may  be  connected  with  it 
cannot  come  into  account.  .  .  .  Are  we  not  really  married  to  our 
conscience,  of  which  we  might  often  be  willing  to  rid  ourselves 
because  it  often  annoys  us  more  than  any  man  or  woman  can 
possibly  annoy  one  another  ?  " — Blackie,  The  Wisdo'm  of  Goethe. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  HOME.  43 

and  the  sound  of  little  voices  in  the  house  are  music 
to  us,  and  if  the  pressure  of  little  fingers  and  the 
touches  of  little  lips  can  make  us  thrill  with  gratitude 
and  prayer,  we  owe  this  sunshine  of  life  to  Jesus 
Christ.  By  saying,  "  Suffer  the  little  children  to 
come  unto  Me,"  He  converted  the  home  into  a 
church,  and  parents  into  His  ministers  ;  and  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  He  has  not  by  this  means  won 
to  Himself  as  many  disciples  in  the  course  of  the 
Christian  ages  as  even  by  the  institution  of  the 
Church  itself.  Perhaps  the  lessons  of  mothers 
speaking  of  Jesus,  and  the  examples  of  Christian 
fathers,  have  done  as  much  for  the  success  of 
Christianity  as  the  sermons  of  eloquent  preachers  or 
the  worship  of  assembled  congregations.  Not  once 
or  twice,  at  all  events,  has  the  religion  of  Christ, 
when  driven  out  of  the  Church,  which  had  been 
turned  by  faithless  ministers  and  worldly  members 
into  a  synagogue  of  Satan,  found  an  asylum  in  the 
home  ;  and  there  have  been  few  of  the  great  teachers 
of  Christendom  who  have  not  derived  their  deepest 
convictions  from  the  impressions  made  by  their 
earliest  domestic  environment. 

Many  of  the  miracles  of  Jesus  seem  to  have  been 
prompted  by  regard  for  the  affections  of  the  family. 
When  He  healed  the  Syro-Phoenician's  daughter,  or 
gave  the  daughter  of  Jairus  back  to  her  mother,  or 


44  IMAGO   CHRiSTI. 


raised  the  widow's  son  at  the  gate  of  Nain,  or 
brought  Lazarus  from  the  dead  to  keep  the  family 
circle  at  Bethany  unbroken,  can  it  be  doubted  that 
the  Saviour  experienced  delight  in  ministering  to' 
the  domestic  affections  ?  He  showed  how  profound 
was  His  appreciation  of  the  depth  and  intensity 
of  these  affections  in  the  Parable  of  the  Prodigal 
Son. 

But  it  was  by  His  own  conduct  in  the  family 
that  He  exhibited  most  fully  His  respect  for  this 
institution.  Though  the  details  of  His  life  in 
Mary's  home  are  unknown  to  us,  every  indication 
shows   Him  to  have  been  a  perfect  son. 

There  is  no  joy  of  parents  comparable  to  that  of 
seeing  their  child  growing  up  in  wisdom,  modesty 
and  nobility  ;  and  we  are  told  that  Jesus  grew  in 
wisdom  and  stature  and  in  favour  with  God  and 
man.  If  He  knew  already  of  the  great  career 
before  Him,  this  did  not  lift  Him  above  the  obedience 
of  a  child  ;  for,  even  when  He  was  twelve  years  of 
age,  we  are  told,  He  went  down  to  Nazareth  with 
His  parents  and  was  subject  unto  them.  It  is 
generally  supposed  that  soon  after  this  Joseph  died, 
and  on  Jesus,  as  the  eldest  son,  fell  the  care  of 
supporting  the  family.  This  is  uncertain  ;  but  the 
very  close  of  His  life  is  marked  by  an  act  which 
throws   the   strongest    light  back  on    the    years   of 


CHRIST  IN  THE  HOME.  45 

which  no  record  has  been  preserved,  for  it  reveals 
how  deep  and  deathless  was  His  affection  for  His 
mother.  Whilst  hanging  on  the  cross,  He  saw  her 
and  spoke  to  her.  He  was  at  the  time  in  terrible 
agony,  every  nerve  tingling  with  intolerable  pain. 
He  was  at  the  point  of  death  and  anxious  no  doubt 
to  turn  away  from  all  earthly  things  and  deal  with 
God  alone  ;  He  was  bearing  the  sin  of  the  world, 
whose  maddening  load  was  crushing  His  heart  ;  yet, 
amidst  it  all,  He  turned  His  attention  to  His  mother 
and  to  her  future,  and  made  provision  for  her  by 
asking  one  of  His  disciples  to  take  her  to  his  home 
and  be  a  son  to  her  in  His  own  stead.  And  the 
disciple  He  selected  for  this  service  was  the  most 
amiable  of  them  all — not  Peter  the  headlong  or 
Thomas  the  melancholy,  but  John,  who  could  talk 
with  her  more  tenderly  than  any  other  about  the 
one  subject  which  absorbed  them  both,  and  who 
was  perhaps  abler  than  any  of  the  rest,  on  account 
of  the  comfort  of  his  worldly  condition,  to  support 
Mary  without  allowing  her  to  feel  that  she  was  a 
burden. 

III.      • 

Sacred  as  is  the  parent's  right  to  the  obedience 
of  the  child,  there  is  a  term  to  it.  It  is  the  office 
of  the  parent   to  train   the  child   to  independence. 


46  IMAGO  CHRIST!. 


As  the  schoolmaster's  aim  ought  to  be  to  train  his 
pupils  to  a  stage  where  they  are  able  to  face  the 
work  of  life  without  any  more  help  from  him,  so 
parents  have  to  recognise  that  there  is  a  point  at 
which  their  commands  must  cease  and  their  children 
be  allowed  to  choose  and  act  for  themselves.  Love 
will  not  cease  ;  respect  ought  not  to  cease ;  but 
authority  has  to  cease.  Where  exactly  this  point 
occurs  in  a  child's  life  it  is  difficult  to  define.  It 
may  not  be  the  same  in  every  case.  But  in  all 
cases  it  is  a  momentous  crisis.  Woe  to  the  child 
who  grasps  at  this  freedom  too  soon !  This  is  often 
the  ruin  of  the  young  ;  and  among  the  features  of  the 
life  of  our  own  time  there  are  none  perhaps  more 
ominous  than  the  widespread  disposition  among  the 
"young  to  slip  the  bridle  of  authority  prematurely 
and  acknowledge  no  law  except  their  own  will.  But 
parents  also  sometimes  make  the  mistake  of  attempt- 
ing to  exert  their  authority  too  long.  A  father  may 
try  to  keep  his  son  under  his  roof  when  it  would  be 
better  for  him  to  marry  and  have  a  house  of  his 
own  ;  or  a  mother  may  interfere  in  the  household 
affairs  of  her  married  daughter,  who  would  be  a 
better  wife  if  left  to  her  own  resources* 

•  "  A  child's  duty  is  to  obey  its  parents.  It  is  never  said  any- 
where in  the  Bible,  and  never  vi-as  yet  said  in  any  good  or  wise 
book,  that  a  man's  or  a  woman's  is.     When,  precisely,  a  child 


CHRIST  IN  THE  HOME. 


47 


Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus,  erred  in  this  respect. 
She  attempted  again  and  again  to  interfere  unduly 
with  His  work,  even  after  His  public  ministry  had 
commenced.  It  was  her  pride  in  Him  that  made 
her  do  so  at  the  marriage  in  Cana  of  Galilee  ;  it 
was  anxiety  about  His  health  on  other  occasions. 
She  was  not  the  only  one  who  ventured  to  control 
His  action  in  an  undue  way.  But,  if  anything 
could  arouse  the  indignation  of  Jesus,  it  was  such 
interference.  It  made  Him  once  turn  on  Peter 
with,  "  Get  thee  behind  Me,  Satan  ; "  and  on  more 
than  one  occasion  it  lent  an  appearance  of  harshness 
even  to  His  behaviour  to  His  mother.  The  very 
intensity  of  His  love  to  His  friends  and  relatives 
made  their  wishes  and  appeals  sore  temptations  to 
Him,  for  He  would  have  liked  to  please  them  had 

becomes  a  man  or  a  woman,  it  can  no  more  be  said,  than  when  it 
should  first  stand  on  its  legs.  But  a  time  assuredly  comes  when 
it  should.  In  great  states,  children  are  always  trying  to  remain 
children,  and  the  parents  wanting  to  make  men  and  women  of 
them.  In  vile  states  the  children  are  always  wanting  to  be  men 
and  women,  and  the  parents  to  keep  them  children.  It  may  be 
— and  happy  the  house  in  which  it  is  so — that  the  father's  at 
least  equal  intellect,  and  older  experience,  may  remain  to  the 
end  of  his  life  a  law  to  his  children,  not  of  force,  but  of  perfect 
guidance,  with  perfect  love.  Rarely  it  is  so  ;  not  often  possible. 
It  is  as  natural  for  the  old  to  be  prejudiced  as  for  the  young  to 
be  presumptuous  ;  and  in  the  change  of  centuries,  each  generation 
has  something  to  judge  of  for  itself." — Ruskin,  Mornings  in 
Florence,  vol.  iii.,  p.  72. 


48  IMAGO   CHRISTl. 


He  been  able.  But,  if  He  had  yielded,  He  would 
have  been  turning  away  from  the  task  to  which 
He  was  pledged  ;  and  therefore  He  had  to  rouse 
Himself  even  to  indignation  to  resist  temptation. 
On  no  other  occasion  had  His  conduct  so  much 
appearance  of  unfilial  harshness  as  when  His 
mother  and  brethren  came  one  day  in  the  midst 
of  His  work  desiring  to  speak  with  Him,  and  He 
retorted  on  the  person  who  told  Him,  "  But  who 
is  My  mother,  and  who  are  My  brethren  ? "  and, 
looking  round  on  the  disciples  seated  in  front  of 
Him,  added,  "  Behold,  My  mother  and  My  brethren  ! 
for  whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  God,  the  same  is 
My  brother,  and  sister,  and  mother."  It  cannot 
be  denied  that  these  words  have  a  harsh  sound.* 
But  they  are  probably  to  be  read  with  what  goes 
immediately  before  them  in  the  Gospel  of  St.  Mark, 
where  we  are  told  that  His  friends  made  an  attempt 
to  lay  hold  of  Him,  saying,  "  He  is  beside  Himself." 
So  absorbed  was  Jesus  at  this  period  in  His  work 
that  He  neglected  even  to  eat  ;  so  rapt  was  He 
in  the  holy  passion  of  saving  men  that  to  His  rela- 
tives it  appeared  that  He  had  gone  mad  ;  and  they 


*  The  very  fact,  however,  that  Jesus  compared  the  relation 
between  Himself  and  those  who  do  the  will  of  God  to  the  con- 
nection between  Himself  and  His  mother  and  brethren  implies 
that  the  latter  held  a  high  and  sacred  place  in  His  mind. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  HOME.  49 

conceived  it  to  be  their  duty  to  lay  hands  on  Him 
and  put  Him  in  restraint.  If  Mary  took  part  in  this 
impious  procedure,  it  is  no  wonder  that  there  should 
have  fallen  on  her  a  heavy  rebuke.  At  all  events 
she  evidently  came  to  Him  thinking  that  He  must 
at  once  leave  everything  and  speak  to  her.  But  He 
had  to  teach  her  that  there  are  even  higher  claims 
than  those  of  domestic  affection  :  in  doing  God's 
work  He  could  recognise  no  authority  but  God's. 
There  is  a  sphere  into  which  even  parental 
authority  may  not  seek  admittance — the  sphere  of 
conscience.  Jesus  not  only  kept  this  sacred  for 
Himself,  but  called  upon  those  who  followed  Him 
to  do  so  too.  He  foresaw  how  in  the  progress  of 
time  this  would  often  sever  family  ties  ;  and  to  one 
who  cherished  so  high  a  respect  for  the  home  it 
must  have  been  a  prospect  full  of  pain  :  "  Think 
not,"  He  said,  "  that  I  am  come  to  send  peace  on 
earth,  but  a  sword.  For  I  am  come  to  set  a  man 
at  variance  against  his  father,  and  the  daughter 
against  her  mother,  and  the  daughter-in-law  against 
her  mother-in-law.  And  a  man's  foes  shall  be  they 
of  his  own  household."  This  must  have  been  to 
Him  a  terrible  prospect  ;  but  He  did  not  shrink 
from  it  ;  to  Him  there  were  claims  higher  than 
even  those  of  home  :  "  He  that  loveth  father  and 
mother  more  than  Me  is  not  worthy  of  Me,  and  he 

4 


so  IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


that  loveth  son  or  daughter  more  than   Me  is  not 
worthy  of  Me." 

This  sword  still  cuts.  In  heathen  countries 
where  Christianity  is  being  introduced,  especially  in 
countries,  like  India,  where  the  domestic  system 
is  extensively  developed,  the  chief  difficulty  in  the 
way  of  confessing  Christ  is  the  pain  of  breaking 
family  connections,  and  often  it  is  nothing  less 
than  an  agony.  Even  in  Christian  lands  the  oppo- 
sition of  worldly  parents  to  the  religious  decision 
of  their  children  is  sometimes  very  strong,  and 
occasions  extreme  perplexity  to  those  who  have  to 
bear  this  cross.  It  is  always  a  delicate  case,  re- 
quiring the  utmost  Christian  wisdom  and  patience  ; 
but,  when  the  issues  are  clear  to  mind  and  con- 
science, there  can  be  no  doubt  which  alternative 
is  the  will  of  Christ  :  we  must  obey  God  rather  than 
man.*  How  happy  are  they  who  are  in  precisely 
the  opposite  case :  who  know  that  their  full  decision 


*  There  is  a  very  important  caution  hinted  at  in  the  words 
of  Martensen  on  this  subject  (Christian  Ethics,  vol.  ii.):  "  What- 
ever doubtful  and  difficult  circumstances  may  hereby  arise,  and 
however  mistakenly  those  members  of  a  family  may  act,  who 
are  awake  to  Christian  truth,  but  whose  Christianity  is  often 
made  an  unseemly  display  of,  and  whose  whole  behaviour  is  one 
fret  and  ferment,  still  the  fact  itself,  that  ordinary  and  worldly 
family  life  is  disturbed  by  the  Gospel,  is  one  quite  in  order,  and 
in  conformity  with  the  divine  economy." 


CHRIST  IN  THE   HOME. 


for  Christ  and  frank  confession  of  Him  would  fill 
their  homes  with  joy  unspeakable  ! 

IV. 

In  every  home,  it  is  said,  there  is  a  skeleton  in 
the  cupboard  ;  that  is  to  say,  however  great  may  be 
its  prosperity  and  however  perfect  the  appearance 
of  harmony  it  presents  to  the  world,  there  is  always, 
inside,  some  friction  or  fear,  or  secret,  which  darkens 
the  sunshine. 

This  proverb  may  be  no  truer  than  many  other 
wide  generalisations  which  need  to  be  qualified 
by  the  acknowledgment  of  innumerable  exceptions. 
Yet  there  is  no  denying  that  home  has  its  pains  as 
well  as  its  pleasures,  and  the  very  closeness  of  the 
connection  of  the  members  of  a  family  with  one 
another  gives  to  any  who  may  be  so  disposed  the 
chance  of  wounding  the  rest.  Under  the  cloak  of 
relationship  torture  may  be  applied  with  impunity, 
which  those  who  inflict  it  would  not  dare  to  apply 
to  an  outsider. 

Jesus  suffered  from  this :  He  had  His  peculiar 
domestic  grief.  It  was  that  His  brethren  did  not 
believe  on  Him.  They  could  not  believe  that 
He  who  had  grown  up  with  them  as  one  of 
themselves  was  infinitely  greater  than  they.  They 
looked  with  envy  on  His  waxing  fame.     Whenevor 


$2  IMAGO   CHRIST/. 


they    intervene    in    His    life,    it    is    in     a    way    to 

annoy. 

How  great  a  grief  this  must  have  been  to  Jesus 
will  be  best  understood  by  those  who  have  suffered 
the  like  themselves.  There  have  been  many  of 
God's  saints  who  have  had  to  stand  and  testify 
alone  in  ungodly  and  worldly  homes.  Many  in 
such  circumstances  are  suffering  an  agony  of  daily 
petty  martyrdom  which  may  be  harder  to  bear  than 
public  persecution,  for  which  widespread  sympathy 
is  easily  aroused.  But  they  know  at  least  that  they 
have  the  sympathy  of  Him  who  alluded  so  patheti- 
cally to  His  own  experience  in  the  words :  "  A 
prophet  is  not  without  honour  save  in  his  own 
country   and    in   his    own    house." 

How  He  met  His  brethren's  unbelief — whether 
He  reasoned  and  remonstrated  with  them  or  was 
silent  and  trusted  to  the  testimony  of  His  life — 
we  cannot  tell.  But  we  may  be  certain  that  He 
prayed  for  them  without  ceasing  ;  and  happily  we 
know  what  the  issue  was. 

His  brethren,  it  would  appear,  continued  un- 
believing up  to  the  time  of  His  death.  But  im- 
mediately thereafter,  in  the  first  chapter  of  the 
Book  of  Acts,  we  find  them  assembled  as  believers 
with     His    apostles     in    Jerusalem.*      This    is     an 

•  Acts  i.  14. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  HOME.  53 

extraordinary  circumstance  ;  for  at  this  very  time 
His  cause  was,  if  we  may  so  speak,  at  the  lowest 
ebb.  Events  seemed  to  have  demonstrated  that 
His  pretensions  to  the  Messiahship  had  been  false  ; 
yet  those  who  had  disbelieved  in  Him  at  the  height 
of  His  fame  were  found  among  the  believers  in 
Him  when  apparently  His  cause  had  gone  to  pieces. 
How  is  this  to  be  accounted  for  ? 

The  explanation  lies,  I  believe,  in  a  passage  of 
First  Corinthians,  where,  in  enumerating  the  appear- 
ances of  our  Lord  to  different  persons  after  His 
resurrection,  St.  Paul  mentions  that  He  appeared  to 
James.*  This  was  apparently  the  Lord's  brother  ; 
and,  if  so,  is  there  not  something  wonderfully  strik- 
ing in  the  fact  that  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the  risen 
Saviour  was  to  bring  to  His  unbelieving  brother  the 
evidence  which  would  conquer  his  unbelief.?  James, 
it  may  be  presumed,  would  communicate  what  he 
had  experienced  to  the  other  members  of  Mary's 
family.  The  result  was  of  the  happiest  description  ; 
and  two  of  the  brothers,  James  and  Jude,  lived  to 
be   the   penmen   of  books  of  Holy  Scripture. 

I  venture  to  think  that  the  presence  of  these 
brethren  of  Jesus  among  the  believers  in  Him  at 
such  a  crisis  is  even  yet  one  of  the  strongest  proofs 

•  I  Cor.  XV.  7. 


54  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


of  the  reality  of  the  resurrection  ;  but  in  the  mean- 
time we  will  rather  think  of  it  as  a  signal  proof 
of  the  unwearied  persistence  with  which  He  sought 
their  salvation,  and  as  an  example  to  ourselves  to 
pray  on,  hope  on,  work  on  for  those  of  our  own 
flesh  and  blood  who  may  yet  be  outside  the  fold 
of  Christ 


III. 

CHRIST   IN   THE   STATE 


Matt,  ix.  I. 

„  xiii.  54. 

,,  xvii.  24-27. 

„  XX.  17-19. 

„  xxiii.  37-39. 

„  xxvi.  32. 

Luke  iv.  16-30. 

,,  xiii.  16,  34,  35. 

,,  xix.  9. 


Matt.  ii. 

„      iv.  3-10. 

,,      ix.  9,  27. 

,,      xxi.  i-ll. 

,,      xxii.  15-21. 

,,      xxvi.  47-68 

,,      xxvii. 
Luke   ii.  11,  29,  32,  38. 

„      xiii.  31-33. 

,,      xxiii.  7-12. 
John    vi.  15. 
,,        xi.  48. 


Matt,  xviii.  1-3. 
„      xix.  28. 

„      XX.  20-28. 
Jotn  xviii.  36,  37. 
xix.  14,  19,  20. 


CHAPTER  III. 

CHRIST   IN   THE   STATE. 

I. 

r  N  the  mind  of  the  average  Christian  of  the 
-"-  present  day  the  idea  of  the  state  does  not 
perhaps  occupy  a  prominent  position.  Many  of 
his  duties  appear  to  him  more  important  than  those 
he  owes  as  a  citizen.  He  probably  considers  that 
the  most  important  question  which  can  be  asked 
about  him  is,  What  is  he  in  himself,  in  his  secret 
soul  and  inward  character }  Next  to  this  in  im- 
portance he  might  perhaps  consider  the  question 
of  what  he  is  as  a  member  of  the  Church,  charged 
with  sustaining  its  honour  and  sharing  in  its  work. 
The  third  place  he  might  give  to  the  question  of 
what  he  is  in  the  family,  as  son,  husband,  father. 
But  much  less  important  than  any  of  these  would 
appear  to  him  the  fourth  question — what  he  is  as 
a  citizen  of  the  state. 

On  the  whole,  perhaps  this   is  the  right  way  of 


58  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


judging ;  probably  it  is  the  Christian  way.*  But 
it  is  the  exact  opposite  of  the  view  of  the  whole 
ancient  world.  The  great  thinkers  of  Greece,  for 
example,  put  the  state  before  the  individual,  the 
home  and  the  Church.  To  them  the  supreme 
question  about  every  man  was,  What  is  he  as  a 
citizen }  The  chief  end  of  man  they  believed  to 
be  to  make  the  state  great  and  prosperous,  and  to 
the  interests  of  the  state  they  sacrificed  everything 
else.  Whether  the  individual  was  good  and  happy, 
whether  the  family  was  pure  and  harmonious,  was 
not  what  they  asked  first,  but  whether  the  state 
was  strong. 

Jesus  changed  this.  He  was  the  discoverer,  so 
to  speak,  of  the  individual.  He  taught  that  in 
every  man  there  is  a  soul   more  precious  than  the 

*  The  relative  importance  of  these  different  ways  of  con- 
sidering man  affords  scope,  however,  for  endless  discussion  and 
difference  of  opinion.  Rothe's  ethical  speculations  w^ere  power- 
fully influenced  by  deference  to  the  ancient  view  of  the  priority 
of  the  state.  Martensen  holds  that  a  theory  of  society  must 
start  from  the  family.  Ritschl  and  his  school  have  re-emphasized 
the  ethical  and  religious  importance  of  the  Church.  Among 
ourselves  several  causes  are  contributing  at  present  to  give 
prominence  to  the  social  aspects  of  religion.  It  is  impossible 
to  overestimate  these,  unless  they  are  put  above  its  individual 
aspects.  I  can  entertain  no  doubt  that  in  the  mind  of  Jesus 
the  individual  was  the  prius.  Indeed,  one  of  the  most  decisive 
steps  forward  taken  in  His  moral  teaching  was  the  substitution 
of  the  individual  as  the  unit  for  the  nation  or  the  Church, 


CHRIST  IN  THE  STATE.  59 

whole  world,  and  that  the  best  product  of  this 
world  is  a  good  and  noble  character.  Instead  of 
its  being  true  that  individuals  do  not  matter  if  the 
state  is  strong,  the  truth  is  that  the  state  and  the 
Church  and  the  family  are  only  means  for  the  good 
of  the  individual,  and  they  are  tested  by  the  kind 
of  man  they  produce*  In  this,  as  in  many  other 
respects,  Christianity  turned  the  world  upside  down, 
and  put  the  first  last  and  the  last  first. 

But,  although  the  state  does  not  hold  the  place 
in  Christian  teaching  which  it  held  in  heathen 
philosophy,  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  to  sup- 
pose that  to  Christianity  the  state  is  unimportant. 
Though  the  primary  aim  of  Christ's  religion  is  to 
make  good  men,  yet  good  men  ought  to  be  good 
citizens. 

It  is  natural  to  a  healthy  human  being  to  love 
the  land  of  his  birth,  the  scenery  on  which  his 
eyes  have  first  rested,  and  the  town  in  which  he 
resides  ;  and  it  is  part  of  the  design  of  Providence 
to  utilise  these  affections  for  the  progress  of  man 
and  the  embellishment  of  the  earth,  which  is  his 
habitation.      Every  inhabitant  of  a  town   ought   to 


*  "  The  test  of  every  religious,  political,  or  educational  system 
is  the  man  which  it  ioxmsy—AmieVs  Journal,  vol.  i.,  p.  49- 


6o  IMAGO   CHRIS TJ. 


wish  to  promote  its  welfare  and  adorn  it  with 
beauty  ;  and  there  is  no  feeling  more  worthy  of  a 
youthful  heart  than  the  desire  to  do  something — 
by  making  a  wise  plan,  or  writing  a  good  book, 
or  singing  a  noble  lay,  or  expunging  a  national 
blot — to  add  to  the  fair  fame  of  his  native 
country.* 

Some  countries  have  had  an  exceptional  power 
of  awakening  these  sentiments  and  of  binding 
their  own  children  to  their  service.  Palestine  was 
one  of  these.  It  was  loved  with  a  fervent  patriot- 
ism. Its  charm  lay  partly  in  its  beauty.  It  may 
have  lain  partly  in  its  very  smallness,  for  feeling 
contracts  an  impetuous  force  when  confined  within 
narrow  limits,  as  highland  rivers  become  torrents 
in  their  rocky  beds.  But  it  is  the  memory  of  great 
and  unselfish  lives  lived  on  its  soil  that  chiefly 
excites  patriotic  sentiment  in  the  inhabitants  of  any 

"  I  mind  it  weel,  in  early  date, 
When  I  was  beardless,  young  and  blate, 
And  first  could  thresh  the  barn, 

*  *  »  * 

Ev'n  then  a  wish  (I  mind  its  power), 
A  wish  that  to  my  latest  hour 

Shall  strongly  heave  my  breast : 
That  I  for  poor  auld  Scotland's  sake 
Some  usefu'  plan  or  beuk  could  make 

Or  sing  a  sang  at  least." 

Burns. 


CHRIST  IN   THE  STATE.  6i 

country;*  and  Palestine  possessed  this  source  of 
fascination  in  unparalleled  measure,  for  its  history 
was  crowded   with  the  most  inspiring  names. 

Jesus  felt  this  spell.  Can  any  one  read  in  His 
words  the  images  of  natural  beauty  gathered  from 
the  fields  of  Galilee  without  being  convinced  that 
He  looked  on  these  landscapes  with  a  loving  eye  } 
The  name  of  the  village  He  was  brought  up  in  clings 
to  Him  to  this  day,  for  He  is  still  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 
He  vindicated  Himself  for  healing  a  woman  on  the 
Sabbath  on  the  ground  that  she  was  a  daughter 
of  Abraham  ;  and  the  publicans  and  sinners  were 
dear  to  Him  because  they  were  the  lost  sheep  of 
the  house  of  Israel.  Jerusalem,  the  capital  of  the 
country,  had  always  laid  a  strong  hold  on  Jewish 
hearts.  The  bards  of  the  nation  used  to  sing  of 
it,  ''  Beautiful  for  situation  is  Mount  Zion  ; "  "  Let 
my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my  mouth  if  I 
forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem."  But  all  such  tributes  of 
affection  were  surpassed  by  Jesus,  when  He  addressed 
it,  "  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  how  often  would  I  have 

*  Says  Novalis  :  "  The  best  of  the  French  monarchs  had  it  for 
his  purpose  to  make  his  subjects  so  well  off  that  every  one  of 
them  should  be  able  on  Sundays  to  have  roast  fowl  to  dinner. 
Very  good.  But  would  not  that  be  a  better  government  under 
which  the  peasant  would  rather  dine  on  dry  bread  than  under 
any  other  on  roast  fowl,  and,  as  grace  before  meat,  would  give 
God  thanks  that  he  had  been  born  in  such  a  country  ?  " 


62  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


gathered  thy  children  together  even  as  a  hen 
gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings ! "  This 
feeling  survived  even  the  transformation  of  the 
grave,  for,  in  giving  instructions,  after  He  was 
risen,  to  His  apostles  about  the  evangelization  of 
the  world,  He  said,  "Begin  at  Jerusalem."  He  lived 
in  the  closest  sympathy  with  the  great  figures  of  His 
country's  past  and  with  the  work  done  by  them. 
Such  names  as  Abraham  and  Moses,  David  and 
Isaiah,  were  continually  on  His  lips  ;  and  He  took  up 
the  tasks  which  they  had  left  unfinished  and  carried 
them  forward  to  their  fulfilment.  This  is  the  truest 
work  of  patriotism.  Happy  is  that  country  whose 
best  life  has  been  drained  into  some  ideal  cause,  and 
whose  greatest  names  are  the  names  of  those  who  have 
lavished  their  strength  on  this  object.  The  deeds 
and  sayings  of  these  heroes  ought,  next  to  the  Bible, 
to  be  the  chief  spiritual  nourishment  of  her  children  ; 
and  the  young  ambition  of  her  choicest  minds  should 
be  concentrated  on  watering  the  seeds  which  they 
sowed  and  completing  the  enterprises  which  they 
inaugurated. 

HI. 

There  was  one  task   of  patriotism  in  Christ's  day 

and   country  which   seemed   to   lie   to   the   hand   of 

anyone  born  with  a  patriotic  spirit.      Palestine  was 

at  that  time  an  enslaved  country.     In  fact,  it  was 


CHRIST  IN   THE  STATE.  63 

groaning  under  a  double  servitude  ;  for,  whilst 
several  of  its  provinces  were  ruled  over  by  the 
tyrannical  race  of  the  Herods,*  the  whole  country 
was  subject  to  the  Roman  power. 

Was  it  not  the  duty  of  Jesus  to  free  His  country 
from  this  double  tyranny  and  restore  it  to  indepen- 
dence, or  even  elevate  it  to  a  place  of  sovereignty 
among  the  nations  ?  Many  would  have  been  willing 
to  welcome  a  deliverer  and  to  make  sacrifices  for  the 
national  cause.  The  whole  of  the  Pharisaic  party 
was  imbued  with  patriotic  sentiment,  and  a  section 
of  it  bore  the  name  of  the  Zealots,  because 
they  were  willing  to  go  all  lengths  in  sacrifice  or 
daring.t 

Jesus  seemed  to  be  designated  for  this  very 
service.  He  was  directly  descended  from  David 
through  the  royal  line.  When  He  was  born,  wise 
men  came  from  the  East  to  Jerusalem  inquiring, 
"  Where  is  He  that  is  born  King  of  the  Jews  ? " 
One  of  His  first  disciples.f  on  being  introduced  to 
Him,  saluted  Him  as  "  the  King  of  Israel ;"  and,  on 
the  day  when   He  rode  in  triumph  into  Jerusalem, 

*  Herod  the  Great,  the  founder  of  this  dynasty,  was  an 
Idumaean,  but  tried  to  conciHate  the  national  sentiment  by 
marrying  a  Jewish  princess. 

t  One  member  of  this  party,  Simon  Zelotes,  joined  the 
discipleship  of  Jesus. 

X  Nathanael. 


64  IMAGO   CHRISTI, 


His  adherents  called  Him  by  the  same  name,  no 
doubt  meaning  that  they  expected  Him  to  be 
literally  the  king  of  the  country.  These,  and  man}- 
other  incidents  which  they  will  recall,  are  indications 
that  it  was  His  destiny  not  to  be  the  private  man 
He  was,  but  to  be  the  head  of  an  emancipated  and 
glorious  state. 

Why  was  this  destination  not  fulfilled  .-'  This  is 
the  most  difficult  question  that  can  be  asked.  It 
occurs  often  to  every  careful  reader  of  the  Gospels, 
out  lands  us  as  often  as  we  ask  it  in  a  sea  of 
f  mysteries.  Did  He  ever  intend  to  be  the  king 
of  His  native  country.?  Was  Satan  appealing  to 
the  favourite  fancies  of  His  youth  when  he  showed 
P  Him  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the  glory 
'^of  them  }  If  the  Jewish  people,  instead  of  rejecting, 
had  welcomed  Him,  what  would  have  happened  .<* 
Would  He  have  set  up  His  throne  in  Jerusalem 
and  made  the  whole  world  subject  to  it  ?  Was  it 
only  when  they  had  made  it  impossible  for  Him  to 
reign  over  them  that  He  turned  aside  from  what 
appeared  to  be  His  destiny  and  limited  Himself 
to  a  kingdom   not   of  this   world  } 

It  is  impossible  to  read  Christ's  life  intelligently 
without  asking  such  questions  as  these  ;  yet  it  is  vain 
to  ask  them,  for  they  cannot  be  answered.  We  are 
asking  what   would  have  been,  if  something  which 


CHRIST  IN  THE  STATE.  65 

did  happen  had  not  happened ;  and  only  omniscience 
is  equal  to  such  a  problem. 

We  may,  however,  say  with  certainty  that  it  was 
the  sin  of  man  which  prevented  Jesus  from  ascending 
the  throne  of  His  father  David.  His  offer  of  Himself 
to  be  the  Messiah  of  His  country  was  a  bond  fide 
offer.  Yet  it  was  made  on  conditions  from  which 
He  could  not  depart :  He  could  only  have  been 
king  of  a  righteous  nation.  But  the  Jews  were 
thoroughly' unrighteous.  They  once  tried  to  take 
Him  by  force  and  make  Him  a  king  ;  but  their  zeal 
was    unhallowed,  and  He  could  not  yield  to  it. 

Then  the  tide  of  His  life  turned  and  rolled  back 
upon  itself.  Instead  of  the  expeller  of  tyrants.  He 
became  the  victim  of  tyranny.  His  own  nation, 
which  ought  to  have  raised  Him  on  its  shields  as 
its  leader,  became  His  prosecutor  at  the  bar  of  the 
alien  government,  and  He  had  to  stand  as  a  culprit 
before  both  the  Roman  and  the  Herodian  rulers 
of  the  land.  As  a  subject  of  the  country,  He 
yielded  with  all  submissiveness,  telling  His  followers 
to  put  up  their  swords.  And  the  law-officers  of  the 
state  made  a  malefactor  of  Him,  crucifying  Him 
between  two  thieves.  His  blood  fell  on  the  capital 
of  the  country  as  a  deadly  curse  ;  and  in  less  than 
half  a  century  after  His  murder  the  Jewish  state 
had  disappeared  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

5 


66  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


It  is  a  terrible  commentary  on  the  imperfection 
of  the  state.  The  state  exists  for  the  protection  of 
life,  property,  and  honour — to  be  a  terror  to  evil- 
doers and  a  praise  to  them  that  do  well.  Once, 
and  only  once  in  all  history,  it  had  to  deal  with  One 
who  was  perfectly  good  ;  and  what  it  did  was  to 
adjudge  Him  a  place  among  the  very  worst  of 
criminals  and  put  Him  to  death.  If  this  were  a 
specimen  of  the  law's  habitual  action,  the  state, 
instead  of  being  a  divine  institution,  would  have  to 
be  pronounced  the  most  monstrous  evil  with  which 
the  world  is  cursed.  So  the  victims  of  its  injustice 
have  sometimes  pronounced  it  ;  but  happily  such 
opinions  are  only  the  excesses  of  a  few.  On  the 
whole,  the  laws  framed  by  the  state,  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  them,  have  been  a  restraint  on  sin 
and  a  protection  to  innocence.  Yet  the  exceptions 
in  every  age  have  been  numerous  and  sad  enough. 
Not  everything  is  righteous  which  the  law  of  the 
land  sanctions,  nor  are  those  all  unrighteous  whom 
the  administrators  of  the  law  condemn.  It  is  of  the 
utmost  consequence  in  our  day  to  remember  this, 
because,  in  the  changed  arrangements  of  the  modern 
state,  we  are  not  only  subjects  of  the  government, 
but,  directly  or  indirectly,  makers  and  administrators 
of  the  law.  Through  the  exercise  of  the  municipal 
and  the  parliamentary  franchises,  we  have  a  part  in 


CHRIST  IN  THE  STATE.  fi<j 


appointing  those  who  make  and  who  administer  the 
laws,  and  thus  we  have  our  share  in  the  responsi- 
bility of  bringing  up  the  laws  to  the  standard  of  the 
divine  justice  and  placing  the  wise  and  the  good 
upon  the  judgment  seat. 


IV. 


The  life  of  Jesus  appeared  to  miscarry.  He  who 
was  meant  to  be  a  king  was  held  unworthy  to  live 
even  as  a  subject  ;  instead  of  inhabiting  a  palace, 
He  was  consigned  to  a  prison  ;  instead  of  being 
seated  on  a  throne,  He  was  nailed  to  a  tree. 

But,  although  this  was  a  miscarriage  in  so  far  as 
it  was  due  to  the  wicked  will  of  men,  it  was  no  mis- 
carriage in  the  wisdom  of  God.  Looked  at  from 
man's  side,  the  death  of  Christ  was  the  blackest  spot 
on  human  history,  a  mistake  and  a  crime  without 
parallel  ;  but,  looked  at  from  God's  side,  it  is  the 
grandest  scene  in  the  history  of  the  universe  ;  for  in 
it  human  sin  was  expiated,  the  depths  of  the  divine 
love  were  disclosed,  and  the  path  of  perfection 
opened  for  the  children  of  men.  Jesus  was  never 
so  completely  a  king  as  at  the  moment  when  His 
claims  to  kingship  were  turned  into  ridicule.  It  was 
in  savage  jest  that  the  title  was  put  above  His  cross, 
"  This  is  Jesus,  the  King  of  the  Jews."     Pilate  wrote 


68  IMAGO   CHRISTl. 


these  words  in  ridicule  ;  but,  when  we  look  back  at 
them  now,  do  they  appear  ridiculous  ?  Do  they 
not  rather  shine  across  the  centuries  with  inextin- 
guishable splendour  ?  In  that  hour  of  uttermost 
shame  He  was  proving  Himself  to  be  the  King  of 
kings  and  the  Lord  of  lords. 

Jesus  had  all  along  had  a  conception  of  His  own 
kingship  which  was  distinct,  original  and  often 
repeated.  He  held  that  to  be  a  true  king  is  to  be 
the  servant  of  the  commonweal,  and  that  he  is  most 
kingly  who  renders  the  most  valuable  services  to  the, 
greatest  number.  He  was  well  aware  that  this  was 
not  the  world's  view  of  kingship,  but  precisely  the 
reverse  of  it.  The  world's  view  is  that  to  be  a  king 
is  to  have  multitudes  in  your  service,  and  the  greater 
the  numbers  ministering  to  his  glory  or  pleasure  the 
greater  is  the  king.  So  He  said  :  "  The  princes  of 
the  Gentiles  exercise  dominion  over  them,  and  they 
that  are  great  exercise  authority  upon  them."  "  But," 
He  added,  "  it  shall  not  be  so  among  you  :  but 
whosoever  will  be  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your 
minister ;  and  whosoever  will  be  chief  among  you,  let 
him  be  your  servant."  Such  was  Christ's  conception 
of  greatness  ;  and,  if  it  is  the  true  one,  He  was 
never  so  great  as  when,  by  the  sacrifice  of  Himself, 
He  was  conferring  on  the  whole  world  the  blessings 
of  salvation. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  STATE.  69 

But  this  conception  of  greatness  and  kingliness 
was  not  meant  by  Jesus  to  be  applied  to  His  own 
conduct  alone  ;  it  is  of  universal  application.  It  is 
the  Christian  standard  for  the  measurement  of  all 
dignities  in  the  state.  He  is  greatest,  according  to 
the  mind  of  Christ,  who  renders  the  greatest  services 
to  others. 

Alas !  this  is  as  yet  but  little  understood  ;  it 
makes  but  slow  progress  in  the  minds  of  men. 
The  old  heathen  idea  is  still  the  governing  one 
of  politics — that  to  be  great  is  to  receive  much 
service,  not  to  render  it.  Politics  has  been  a 
game  of  ambition,  if  not  a  hunting-ground  for 
rapacity,  rather  than  a  sphere  of  service.  The 
aim  of  the  governing  classes  hitherto  has  been  to 
get  as  much  as  possible  for  themselves  at  the 
expense  of  the  governed  ;  and  it  has  yet  to  be 
seen  whether  the  new  governing  class  is  to  be 
swayed   by  a  better   spirit. 

Still,  the  Christian  idea  is  growing  in  this  depart- 
ment also  of  human  affairs.  The  common  heart 
responds  to  Christ's  teaching,  that  the  kingliest  is 
he  who  sacrifices  himself  most  willingly,  works  the 
hardest  and  achieves  the  most  for  the  weal  of  all  ; 
and,  although  the  quaint  old  saying  of  the  Psalmist 
is  still  too  true,  that  "  men  will  praise  thee  when 
thou  doest  well  to  thyself,"  yet  the  number  of  those 


70  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


is  daily  growing  who  feel  that  the  greatness  of  a 
ruler  is  measured,  "  not  by  the  amount  of  tribute  he 
levies  on  society,  but  by  the  greatness  of  the  services 
he  renders  it." 


IV 

CHRIST  IN  THE  CHURCH 


Matt.  iii.  13-15.  Matt.  ix.  10-17. 

,,  viii.  4.  „  xii.  1-14. 

M  «.  35-  ..  XV.  1-9. 

„  xiii.  54.  „  xvi.  6. 

,,  xxi.  12,  13.  ,,  xxiii, 

Mark  iii.  1-6.  Luke  x.  31,  32. 

,,  vi   2.  John  ii.  13-2  J. 

„  xii.  41-44. 

Luke  ii.  21-24,  39>  4i"49' 

,,  iv.  16-32,  44. 

„  xxii.  53. 

John  iv.  22.  Matt.  xxiv.  1-2. 

„  V,  I.  „  xxvi.  17-30. 

,,  viii.  20.  ,,  xxviii.  19,  20. 

„  X.  22,  23.  John  XX.  22,  23. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CHRIST   IN   THE   CHURCH. 

T  N  some  respects  the  Church  is  a  narrower  body 
-*-  than  even  the  family ;  for  one  member  of  a 
family  may  be  taken  into  it  and  another  left  out  ; 
but  in  other  respects  it  is  wider  even  than  the  state  ; 
for  members  of  different  nations  may  be  members 
of  the   same   Church. 

The  family  and  the  state  are  institutions  de- 
veloped out  of  human  nature  by  its  own  inherent 
force  and  according  to  its  own  inherent  laws  ;  but 
the  Church  is  a  divine  institution,  planted  among 
men  to  gather  into  itself  select  souls  and  administer 
to  them  supernatural  gifts.  It  is  not,  indeed,  with- 
out a  natural  root  in  human  nature  ;  but  this  root 
consists  of  those  feelings  in  man  which  make  him 
aspire  to  an  enjoyment  and  satisfaction  which  are 
not  to  be  found  in  this  world  of  which  he  is  lord, 
but  can  only  be  got  as  the  pure  gift  of  Heaven. 
Without  revelation  there  is  no  Church.  As  the 
edifice  of  the  Church  rises  above  the  homes  of  men, 


74  IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


amidst  which  it  is  erected,  and  its  spire,  like  a 
finger,  points  to  the  sky,  so  the  Church  as  an 
institution  is  an  expression  of  man's  aspirations  after 
a  heavenly  life — a  life  in  God  and  in  eternity, 
which  only  the  condescending  grace  of  God  can 
supply 

I. 

Jesus  was  born  in  a  country  in  which  there  was 
already  a  true  Church,  founded  on  revelation  and 
administering  the  grace  of  God.  He  was  a  child 
of  that  nation  to  which  "  pertained  the  adoption  and 
the  glory,  and  the  covenants,  and  the  giving  of  the 
law,  and  the  service  of  God,  and  the  promises."  He 
was  admitted  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Church  by 
the  ordinary  gateway  of  circumcision  ;  and  a  few 
weeks  thereafter  He  was  presented  in  the  Temple, 
like  any  other  Jewish  child,  in  acknowledgment 
that  He  belonged  to  the  Lord.  Thus,  before  He 
was  Himself  conscious  of  it.  He  was,  through  the 
wishes  of  His  earthly  parents,  shut  in  by  holy  rites 
within  the  visible  Church  of  God. 

In  our  day,  all  Christian  parents  devote  their  chil- 
dren to  God ;  but  too  many  of  them  show  no  dis- 
position in  maturity  to  desire  for  themselves  to  be 
connected  with  the  house  of  God.  Jesus,  on  the 
contrary,    as    soon    as     He    became    fully    capable    of 


■~~i 


CHRIST  IN  THE   CHURCH,  75 

self-conscious  action,  adopted  the  pious  wishes 
of  His  parents  as  His  own  and  developed  a  pas- 
sionate love  for  the  house  of  God.  When  His 
parents  lost  Him  in  Jerusalem  at  twelve  years  of 
age,  they  found  Him  again  in  the  Temple  ;  and, 
when  they  told  Him  how  long  and  how  widely  they 
had  sought  Him,  He  asked  in  surprise  how  they 
could  have  expected  Him  to  be  anywhere  else  than 
there*  He  was  without  a  doubt  a  regular  fre- 
quenter of  the  synagogue  during  His  silent  years 
at  Nazareth  ;  and  strange  it  is  to  think  of  Him 
being  preached  to  Sabbath  after  Sabbath  for  so 
long.f 

When  He  quitted  the  privacy  of  Nazareth  and 
began  His  public  work,  He  was  still  a  regular 
frequenter  of  the  synagogue.  This  was  in  fact  the 
centre  from  which  His  work  developed  itself.  "  He 
wrought    miracles  in    the    synagogues    of    Galilee." 

•  "  Wist  ye  not  that  I  should  be  in  My  Father's  house  ?  "  So 
the  Revised  Version,  correctly. 

t  What  was  the  man  like  who  did  it  ?  Was  he  a  wise  man, 
who  guided  the  footsteps  of  the  Holy  Child  into  the  pastures  of 
the  Word  and  supplied  Him  with  the  language  in  which  His 
own  thoughts  afterwards  expressed  themselves?  or  was  he  an 
embodiment  of  all  that  Jesus  had  afterwards  to  denounce  in 
Pharisee  and  scribe  ?  No  portion  of  a  congregation  is  more 
awe-inspiring  to  a  minister  than  the  children.  Any  Sunday 
there  may  be  sitting  before  us  one  who  is  already  revolving 
the  thoughts  which  will  dominate  the  future  and  supersede 
our  own. 


76  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


Nor  was  He  neglectful  of  the  other  centre  of  Jewish 
worship — the  Temple  at  Jerusalem.  He  regularly 
attended  the  feasts  ;  He  sat  down  with  His  disciples 
in  Jerusalem  to  eat  the  Passover  ;  and  He  preached 
in  the  courts  of  the  Temple.  Even  so  secular  a 
part  of  divine  service  as  the  giving  of  money  He 
did  not  overlook  :  He  sent  Peter  to  fetch  out  of 
the  fish's  mouth  a  coin  to  pay  for  Him  the  Temple- 
tax  ;  and  He  passed  a  glowing  eulogium  on  the 
widow  who  cast  her  mite  into  the  Temple  collecting- 
box. 

It  is  thus  evident  that  Jesus  was  a  passionate 
lover  of  the  house  of  God.  He  could  say  with 
holy  David,  "  How  amiable  are  Thy  tabernacles,  O 
Lord  of  hosts  ;  my  soul  longeth,  yea,  even  fainteth 
for  the  courts  of  the  Lord.  A  day  in  Thy  courts 
is  better   than  a  thousand." 

One  sometimes  hears  even  professedly  religious 
people  at  the  present  day  disparaging  public 
worship,  as  if  religion  might  flourish  equally  well 
without  it ;  and,  for  trifling  reasons  or  for  no  reason 
at  all,  they  take  it  upon  themselves  to  withdraw 
from  the  visible  Church  as  something  unworthy  of 
them.  This  was  not  the  way  in  which  Jesus  acted 
The  Church  of  His  day  was  by  no  means  a  pure 
one  ;  and  He,  if  anybody,  might  have  deemed  it 
unworthy    of  Him.       But    He  regularly    waited  on 


CHRIST  IN  THE   CHURCH.  77 

its  ordinances  and  ardently  loved  it.  There  are 
{q.^^  congregations  less  ideal  perhaps  than  that  in 
which  He  worshipped  in  wicked  Nazareth,  and  few 
sermons  are  less  perfect  than  those  He  listened  to. 
But  in  that  little  synagogue  He  felt  Himself  made 
one  with  all  the  piety  of  the  land  ;  as  the  Scripture 
was  read,  the  great  and  good  of  former  ages 
thronged  around  Him  ;  nay,  heaven  itself  was  in 
that    narrow    place  for   Him. 

The  Church  is  the  window  in  the  house  of  human 
life  from  which  to  look  out  and  see  heaven  ;  and  it 
does  not  require  a  very  ornamental  window  to  make 
the  stars  visible.  The  finest  name  ever  given,  out- 
side the  Bible,  to  the  Church  is  Bunyan's  Palace 
Beautiful.  Yet  the  churches  which  he  was  ac- 
quainted with  were  only  the  Baptist  meeting-houses 
of  Bedfordshire  ;  and  in  an  age  of  persecution  these 
were  certainly  as  humble  structures  as  have  ever 
served  for  places  of  worship.  No  better  than  barns 
they  seemed  to  common  eyes  ;  but  in  his  eyes 
each  of  them  was  a  Palace  Beautiful ;  because, 
when  seated  on  one  of  its  rough  benches,  he  felt 
himself  in  the  general  assembly  and  Church  of  the 
firstborn  ;  and  the  eye  of  his  imagination,  looking 
up  through  the  dingy  rafters,  could  descry  the 
gorgeous  roof  and  shining  pinnacles  of  the  Church 
universal.       It   is     the    sanctified    imagination    that 


78  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


invests  the  Church  building,  whether  it  be  brick 
meeting-house  or  noble  cathedral,  with  true  sub- 
lin:iity ;  and  love  to  God,  whose  house  it  is,  can 
make  the  humblest  material  structure  a  home  of 
the  spirit. 

11. 

Although  the  Church  of  Christ's  day  was  of 
divine  origin  and  He  acknowledged  it  to  be  the 
house  of  God,  it  was  frightfully  full  of  abuses. 
Though  an  institution  comes  from  God,  man  may 
add  to  it  that  which  is  his  own  ;  and  by  degrees  the 
human  addition  may  become  so  identified  with  the 
divine  institution  that  both  are  supposed  to  be  of 
a  piece  and  equally  divine.  The  human  additions 
grow  and  grow,  until  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  at 
what  is  God's  through  that  which  is  man's.  Some 
successful  souls,  indeed,  still  find  their  way  through 
to  the  reality,  as  the  roots  of  trees  seek  their  way  to 
the  sustenance  of  the  soil  between  the  crannies  of 
the  opposing  rocks  ;  but  multitudes  are  unable  to 
find  the  way,  and  perish  through  trying  to  satisfy 
themselves  with  what  is  merely  human,  mistaking  it 
for  what  is  divine.  At  last  a  strong  man  is  raised 
up  to  perceive  the  difference  between  the  original 
structure  and  the  human  addition  ;  and  he  tears 
away  the  latter,  breaking   it  in   pieces,  amidst  the 


CHRIST  IN  THE   CHURCH.  79 

wild  outcries  of  all  the  owls  and  birds  of  darkness 
that  have  built  their  nests  in  it,  and  discloses  once 
more  the  foundation  of  God.     This  is  the  Reformer. 

In  Christ's  day  the  accumulation  of  human  addi- 
tions to  the  religion  which  God  had  instituted  had 
grown  to  a  head.  No  one  knows  how  it  had  begun  ; 
such  things  sometimes  begin  innocently  enough.  But 
it  had  been  immensely  developed  by  a  misconcep- 
tion which  had  crept  in  as  to  what  the  worship  of 
God  is.  Worship  is  the  means  by  which  the  empty 
human  soul  approaches  God  in  order  to  be  filled 
with  His  fulness,  and  then  go  away  rejoicing,  to 
live  for  Him  in  the  strength  thus  received.  But 
there  is  always  a  tendency  to  look  upon  it  as  a 
tribute  we  pay  to  God,  which  pleases  Him  and  is 
meritorious  on  our  part.  Of  course,  if  it  is  tribute 
paid  to  Him,  the  more  of  it  that  can  be  paid  the 
better  ;  for  the  more  of  it  there  is,  so  much  the 
greater  grows  the  merit  of  the  worshipper.  Thus 
services  are  multiplied,  new  forms  are  invented, 
and  the  memory  of  God's  grace  is  lost  in  the 
achievements  of  human   merit. 

This  was  what  had  happened  in  Palestine. 
Religion  had  become  an  endless  round  of  services, 
which  were  multiplied  till  they  became  a  burden 
which  life  was  unable  to  bear.  The  ministers 
of    religion     heaped    them    on    the    people,    whose 


8o  IMAGO   CHRIST/. 


consciences  were  so  crushed  with  the  sense  of 
shortcoming  that  the  whole  joy  of  religion  was 
extinguished.  Even  the  ministers  of  religion  them- 
selves were  not  able  to  perform  all  the  orders  they 
issued  ;  and  then  hypocrisy  came  in  ;  for  naturally 
they  were  supposed  to  be  doing  those  things  which 
they  prescribed  to  others.  But  they  said  and  did 
not  ;  they  bound  heavy  burdens  and  grievous  to  be 
borne  on  other  men's  shoulders,  while  they  them- 
selves would  not  touch  them  with  one  of  their 
fingers.  It  was  high  time  for  a  reformer  to  appear, 
and  the  work  fell  to  Jesus. 

The  first  outburst  of  His  reformatory  zeal  was 
at  the  outset  of  His  ministry,  when  He  drove  the 
buyers  and  sellers  out  of  the  Temple.  Their  practices 
had  probably  commenced  with  good  intentions  :  they 
sold  oxen  and  doves  for  sacrifice  to  the  worshippers 
from  foreign  countries,  who  came  in  tens  of  thousands 
to  Jerusalem  at  the  feast  and  could  not  easily  bring 
these  animals  with  them  ;  and  they  exchanged  the 
coins  of  Jerusalem  for  those  of  foreign  countries, 
in  which  the  strangers  of  course  had  brought  their 
money.  It  was  a  necessary  thing ;  but  it  had 
grown  to  be  a  vast  abuse ;  for  exorbitant  prices 
were  charged  for  the  animals  and  exorbitant  rates  of 
exchange  demanded  ;  the  traffic  was  carried  on  with 
such  din  and  clamour  as  to  disturb  the  worship  ;  and 


CHRIST  IN  THE   CHURCH.  8i 

it  took  up  SO  much  room  that  the  Gentiles  were 
elbowed  out  of  the  court  of  the  Temple  which  be- 
longed to  them.  In  short,  the  house  of  prayer  had 
become  a  den  of  thieves.  Jesus  had  no  doubt  noted 
the  abuse  with  holy  anger  many  a  time  when  visiting 
the  Temple  at  the  feasts  ;  and,  when  the  prophetic 
spirit  descended  on  Him  and  His  public  ministry 
began,  it  was  among  His  first  acts  to  clear  it  out  of 
the  house  of  God.  The  youthful  Prophet,  with  His 
scourge  of  cords,  flaming  above  the  venal  crowd,  that, 
conscious  of  their  sin,  fled,  amidst  tumbling  tables 
and  fleeing  animals,  from  before  His  holy  ire,  is  a 
perfect  picture  of  the  Reformer. 

It  is  said  that  the  high-priestly  families  derived  an 
income  from  this  unholy  traffic,  and  it  is  not  Hkely 
that  they  felt  very  kindly  to  One  who  thus  invaded 
their  vested  interests.  In  like  manner  He  aroused 
the  resentment  of  the  Pharisaic  party  by  turning 
into  ridicule  their  long  and  pretentious  prayers  and 
the  trumpets  they  blew  before  them  when  they  were 
giving  alms.  He  could  not  but  expose  these  prac- 
tices, for  the  people  had  learned  to  revere  as  the 
flower  of  piety  that  which  was  the  base  weed  of 
vulgarity  and  pride.  He  had  to  consent  to  be 
frowned  upon  as  a  man  of  sin  because  He  neglected 
the  fasts  and  the  Sabbatic  extravagances  which  He 
knew   to   be    no    part   of    religion  ;   and    still    more 

6 


ga  IMAGO  CHRIS  TI. 


because  He  mingled  with  publicans  and  sinners, 
though  He  knew  this  to  be  the  very  course  of 
divine  mercy.  He  was  compelled  at  last  to  pluck 
the  cloak  of  hypocrisy  entirely  away  from  the  reli- 
gious characters  of  the  day  and  expose  them  in 
their  true  colours  as  bhnd  leaders  of  the  blind  and 
whited  sepulchres,  which  appeared  fair  outside,  but 
inwardly  were  full  of  dead  men's  bones. 

Thus  He  cleared  away  the  human  additions  piled 
about  the  house  of  God  and  let  the  true  Temple  once 
more  be  seen  in  its  own  fair  proportions.  But  He 
had  to  pay  the  penalty.  The  priests,  the  stream  of 
whose  sinful  gains  He  had  stopped,  and  the  Pharisees, 
whose  hypocrisy  He  had  exposed,  pursued  Him  with 
hatred  that  never  rested  till  they  saw  Him  on  the 
cross.  And  so,  in  addition  to  the  name  of  reformer. 
He  earned  the  name  of  Martyr,  and  Himself  became 
the  leader  of  the  noble  army  of  martyrs  which  in  a 
thin  line  deploys  through  the  centuries. 

Not  a  few  of  that  army  have  also  been  reformers. 
They  have  risen  against  the  abuses  of  the  Church 
of  their  day  and  perished  in  the  attempt.  For  the 
New  Testament  Church  is  no  more  free  than  was  the 
Old  Testament  Church  from  the  danger  of  being 
a  scene  of  abuses.  The  condition  of  the  Christian 
Church  at  the  time  of  those  men  of  God  to  whom 
we    are    wont    specially   to    apply  the    title   of  the 


CHRIST  IN  THE   CHURCH.  83 

Reformers  was  remarkably  like  the  state  of  the  Old 
Testament  Church  in  the  time  of  Christ :  man's 
additions  had  completely  overlaid  God's  handiwork  ; 
religion  had  been  transformed  from  an  institution  for 
the  administration  of  God's  grace  into  a  round  of 
forms  and  ceremonies  for  procuring  God's  favour 
by  human  merit ;  and  the  ministers  of  religion  had 
become  blind  leaders  of  the  blind.  By  the  Reforma 
tion  God  delivered  His  Church  from  this  state 
of  things  ;  and  never  since,  we  may  hope,  has  there 
been  anything  like  the  same  need  of  reform.  It 
would  be  vain,  however,  to  suppose  that  in  our  time 
or  in  the  section  of  the  Church  to  which  we  may 
belong  there  are  no  abuses  needing  the  reformer's 
fan.  Though  we  may  be  insensible  of  them,  this 
is  no  proof  that  they  do  not  exist ;  for  the  Church 
even  in  its  worst  days  has  been  unconscious  of  its 
own  defects,  till  the  proper  man  has  appeared  and 
pointed  them  out ;  and  in  all  ages  there  have  been 
those  who  have  believed  themselves  to  be  doing  God 
service  when   resisting  the  most  necessary  changes.* 

*  Schism  is  the  caricature  of  Reform.  But  Schismatic  is  often 
merely  a  nickname  given  to  the  true  Reformer ;  and  even  real 
schism*  nearly  always  indicates  the  need  for  reform,  as  Schleier- 
macher  has  proved  in  the  profound  discussion  of  Church  Reform 
in  his  Christliche  Sitte.     He  says : 

"  Um  also  nichtigen  Versuchen  zu  wehren,  bedarf  es  zuvoiderst 
der  Unterweisung  zu  richtigem  Schriftverstandnisse,  und  dann 


84  IMAGO  CHRIST!. 


III. 

The  name  Reformer,  where  it  is  truly  deserved, 
is  a  great  one  in  the  Church  ;  but  to  Jesus  belongs 
one  much  greater  ;  for  He  was  the  Founder  of  the 
Church. 

The  old  Church  in  which  He  was  brought  up 
was  ready  to  vanish  away.  It  had  served  its  day 
and  was  about  to  be  taken  down.  He  Himself 
prophesied  that  of  the  Temple  there  would  soon  not 

muss  auch  immer  das  Bewusstsein  ervveckt  vverden,  dass  ein 
volliges  Verstehen  der  Schrift  nicht  anders  moglich  ist,  als  auf 
dem  Wege  der  gelehrten  Bildung.  Ware  in  beider  Hinsicht 
immer  besser  gesorgt  gevvesen,  so  wiirden  viele  Abnormitaten 
aicht  entstanden  sein.  Dazu  kommt  aber  noch  etvvas  anderes. 
Es  tritt  namlich  nur  zu  oft  der  Fall  ein,  dass  die  Ehrfurcht, 
welche  die  Laien  haben  fiir  die  Wissenden  als  solclie  und  fiir  die 
Kirchenreprasentation  als  Amt,  ganzlich  wieder  aufgehoben  wird 
durch  die  geringe  personliche  Ehrfurcht,  welche  die  Mitglieder 
der  Reprasentation  und  in  welchen  sonst  das  geschichtliche  Leben 
ist  einflossen.  Wie  sollte  auch  der  Laie  beides  vereinigen, 
auf  der  einen  Seite  sich  fiber  jenen  vvissen  in  Beziehung  aut 
Sittlichkeit  und  religiose  Kraft,  und  auf  der  anderen  Seite  sich 
ihrer  hoheren  Erkenntniss  unterordnen.  Der  geistliche  Hoch- 
muth  wiirde  also  in  den  einzelnen  nicht  entstehen,  vvenn  er  nicht 
immer  Vorschub  fande  einerseits  in  der  Unvollkommenheit  der 
Organisation,  und  andererseits  darin,  dass  nicht  Anstalten  genug 
getroffen  bind  zur  Verbreitung  des  richtigen  Schriftverstandnisses, 
und  die  Menge  jener  verkehrten  Versuche  in  unserer  Kirche  ist 
ein  sicheres  Thermometer  fiir  den  Zustand  des  ganzen  in  dieser 
Hinsicht.  Wir  werden  auch  des  Uebels  nicht  Herr  werden,  ehe 
die  Griinde  desselben  gehoben  sind." 


CHRIST  IN  THE   CHURCH.  85 

be  left  one  stone  above  another  ;  He  told  the  woman 
of  Samaria  that  the  hour  was  coming  when  they 
would  neither  in  Gerizim  nor  yet  on  Mount  Zion 
worship  the  Father,  but  the  true  worshippers  every- 
where would  worship  Him  in  spirit  and  in  truth  ; 
and,  when  He  died,  the  veil  of  the  Temple  was  rent 
in  twain  from  the  top  to  the  bottom. 

He  founded  the  Church  of  the  New  Testament 
in  His  own  blood.  By  the  shedding  of  His  blood 
He  abolished  the  imperfect  relation  between  God 
and  men  mediated  by  the  blood  of  bulls  and  of 
goats,  and  established  a  new  and  better  relationship. 
So  He  said  in  instituting  the  Lord's  Supper,  "  This 
is  the  new  covenant  in  My  blood."  The  new  house 
of  God  is  illuminated  with  the  perfect  revelation 
made  by  Him  of  the  Father  ;  and  in  it  are  adminis- 
tered the  new  and  richer  blessings  purchased  by  His 
life  and  death. 

But  in  building  the  new  house  of  God  its  Founder 
did   not   wholly  discard   the  materials  of  the  old.* 

•  The  apparent  contradiction  between  speaking  of  Christ  both 
as  the  Reformer  of  the  old  and  the  Founder  of  the  new  is  partly 
due  to  the  contradiction,  expounded  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
between  the  will  of  God  and  the  will  of  man.  To  finite  eyes  it 
cannot  but  seem  that  He  was  striving  earnestly  for  ends  which 
were  not  realised,  and  that  the  results  of  His  life  were  different 
from  His  intentions.  Besides,  old  and  new  are  terms  which  may 
both  be  applicable  to  the  same  object  at  the  same  time.  It  is 
more  orthodox  to  speak  of  the  Christian  Church  as  the  same 


86  IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


He  instituted  the  Lord's  Supper  in  the  very  elements 
with  which  on  the  evening  of  its  institution  He  and 
His  disciples  were  celebrating  the  Passover.  The 
forms  of  worship  and  office-bearers  of  the  Christian 
Church  bear  a  close  resemblance  to  those  of  the 
synagogue.  Above  all,  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old 
Testament,  with  the  figures  of  their  saints  and 
heroes,  form  part  of  the  same  volume  as  the 
Scriptures  of  the  New. 

Jesus  Himself  did  not  draw  out  in  detail  the 
plan  of  the  New  Testament  Church.  He  contented 
Himself  with  laying  its  foundation,  which  none  else 
could  have  done,  and  sketching  the  great  outlines  of 
its  structure.  He  entrusted  to  it  His  Gospel,  with 
the  sacred  charge  to  preach  it  to  every  creature  ; 
He  gave  to  it  the  twelve  apostles,  whose  labours  and 
inspired  teachings  might  serve  as  the  second  course 
of  foundation-stones  laid  above  the  foundation 
which  He  had  laid  Himself;  He  empowered  its 
officers  to  admit  to,  and  exclude  from,  its  fellowship  ; 
He  instituted  the  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the 
Lord's  Supper ;  and,  above  all,  He  left  with  His 
Church   the  promise,  which  is   her  star  of  hope  in 

with  that  of  the  Old  Testament ;  but  it  is  perhaps  more  scriptural 
to  speak  of  it  as  a  new  Church.  That  is  to  say,  orthodoxy 
emphasizes  the  element  which  is  common  to  both  dispensations, 
whilst  Scripture  emphasizes  what  is  distinctive  in  the  new. 


CHRIST  IN  THE   CHURCH.  87 

every  age :  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  always,  even  to  the 
end  of  the  world." 

This  foundation-laying  work  of  Christ  was  done 
once  for  all  and  cannot  be  repeated.  Men  dream 
sometimes  of  the  Christian  Church  passing  away 
and  something  more  advanced  taking  its  place.  But 
"other  foundation  can  no  man  lay."  Only  the 
building  up  of  the  Church  on  this  foundation  is  now 
left  to  us.  This,  however,  is  part  of  the  same  work 
and  may  be  done  in  the  same  spirit  in  which  He  laid 
the  foundations. 

In  the  first  place,  those  who  undertake  it  require 
to  see  to  it  that  they  build  straight  on  the  founda- 
tion. There  is  much  that  passes  for  Christian  work 
that  will  not  in  the  end  be  acknowledged  by  Christ, 
because  it  is  not  building  on  the  foundation  which 
He  has  laid.  If  that  new  covenant  in  His  blood 
be  ignored  in  which  He  declared  His  own  work  to 
consist,  or  if  the  foundations  laid  by  His  apostles  in 
His  name  are  not  recognised,  we  may  build  a  church 
of  our  own,  but  He  will  not  recognise  our  labour. 

All  who  take  part  in  this  work  ought  to  build 
with  His  holy  ardour.  He  thought  it  worth  while 
to  die  for  the  sake  of  redeeming  the  souls  of  men  ; 
what  sacrifices  are  we  prepared  to  make  in  contri- 
buting to  the  same  end  ?  He  gave  His  life  ;  will 
we  give  up  our  ease,  our  effort,  our  money }     It  was 


8l  IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


because  He  believed  every  single  soul  was  more 
precious  than  a  world  that  He  died  to  save  the  souls 
of  men.  Are  they  precious  in  our  eyes  ?  Does 
their  fate  haunt  us  ?  does  their  sin  grieve  us  ?  would 
their  salvation  fill  us  with  aught  of  the  joy  that 
thrills  the  angels  in  heaven  when  one  sinner  is 
converted  ?  * 

There  is  needed,  however,  not  only  zeal,  but  con- 
secrated originality  as  well,  in  building  this  edifice. 
As  I  said,  Jesus  did  not  prescribe  the  minute  details 
of  the  organization  of  the  Church.  He  largely  left 
it  to  human  ingenuity  to  find  out  how  best  His 
work  may  be  done  ;  and  the  Church  is  only  finding 
out  still.  New  problems  arise  for  her  to  solve, 
new  tasks  to  be  performed,  and  therefore  she  needs 
inventors  and  pioneers  to  devise  the  plans  for  her 
new  enterprises  and  open  up  the  way  to  new  con- 
quests. It  is  impossible,  for  example,  to  measure 
the     blessing   which    that    man    conferred     on    the 


•  "  Christianity  would  sacrifice  its  divinity  if  it  abandoned 
its  missionary  character  and  became  a  mere  educational  institu- 
tion. Surely  this  Article  of  Conversion  is  the  true  articulus 
stantis  aut  cadentis  ecclcsice.  When  the  power  of  reclaiming  the 
lost  dies  out  of  the  Church,  it  ceases  to  be  the  Church.  It  may 
remain  a  useful  institution,  though  it  is  most  likely  to  become 
an  immoral  and  mischievous  one.  Where  the  power  remains, 
there,  whatever  is  wanting,  it  may  still  be  said  that  *  the  taber- 
nacle of  God  is  with  men.'  " — Ecce  Homo. 


CHRIST  IN  THE  CHURCH.  89 

Church  who  instituted  Sabbath  schools.  He  was 
no  dignitary  of  the  Church  nor  perhaps  in  any  way 
a  remarkable  man,  except  in  this — that  he  saw  a 
vast  work  needing  to  be  done  and  had  originality 
to  discover  the  best  way  of  doing  it.  He  led  the 
way  into  the  children's  world,  and  ever  since  he  has 
been  supplying  the  best  of  work  for  the  myriads 
of  willing  reapers  who  have  followed  him  into  that 
most  attractive  portion  of  the  harvest-field.  There 
are  plenty  of  other  tasks  awaiting  solution  from 
sanctified  Christian  genius ;  and  I  know  no  prize 
more  to  be  coveted  than  that  of  being  the  first  to 
show  how  Christian  thought  may  exploit  some  new 
mine  of  spiritual  knowledge,  or  Christian  character 
rise  to  a  new  level  of  spiritual  attainment,  or  Christian 
zeal  reach  the  spiritual  wants  of  some  neglected 
section  of  the  community. 


V. 

CHRIST  AS  A  FRIEND 


Matt.  X.  2-4,  Luke  viii.  1-3. 

xi.  7-1 1.  „      X.  38-42. 

xvii.  I,  2.  ,,      xii.  4. 

xviii.  6-10.  John  i.  35-51. 

xxi.  17.  ,,      xi. 

xxvi.  14-16,  37,  38,  40,  so.  „     xii,  1-7. 

xxvii.  3-5,  55-61.  „     xiii.  1-5,  23. 

Mark  v.  37.  „     xv.  13-15. 

,,     xiii.  3,  4.  „     xix.  27. 


I 


CHAPTER  V. 
CHRIST  AS  A   FRIEND. 

I. 

T  has  been  advanced  as  an  objection  to  the  New 
Testament  that  it  never  recommends  friendship, 
and,  while  supplying  rules  for  the  behaviour  to  one 
another  of  husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  children, 
brothers  and  sisters,  gives  none  for  the  intercourse 
of  friend  with  friend.* 

Various  reasons  have  been  suggested  to  account 
for   this    singular   omission.        But,   before   entering 

*  In  an  argument  designed  to  prove  that  Christianity  is 
unfavourable  to  friendship,  the  fact  might  be  adduced,  that  the 
best  book  on  the  subject  is  from  the  pen  of  a  heathen.  From  the 
classical  age  of  English  theology  we  have  two  treatises  on  the 
subject,  one  from  the  Royalist  side  by  Jeremy  Taylor,  the  other 
from  the  Puritan  side  by  Richard  Baxter ;  but  neither  possesses 
the  exquisite  flavour  of  Cicero's  De  Amicitid.  The  Lysis  of  Plato 
is  interesting,  as  opening  some  of  the  difficulties  of  the  subject, 
but  it  is  not  an  important  dialogue.  Shakspeare  also  has  dis- 
cussed some  of  the  difficulties  in  Two  Noble  Khismen  and .  Two 
Gentlemen  of  Verona,  and  he  has  given  the  whole  subject  an 
exquisite  embodiment  in  The  Merchant  of  Venice.  But  the 
glory  of  English  literature  in  this  department  is  In  Memoriam. 


94  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


upon  these,  it  would  be  well  to  make  sure  that  the 
omission  itself  is  a  reality.  Is  it  true  that  the  New 
Testament  omits  all  reference  to  friendship  ? 

I  venture,  on  the  contrary,  to  affirm  that  the  New 
Testament  is  the  classical  place  for  the  study  of  this 
subject.  The  highest  of  all  examples  of  friendship 
is  to  be  found  in  Jesus  ;  and  His  behaviour  in  this 
beautiful  relationship  is  the  very  mirror  in  which  all 
true  friendship  must  see  and  measure  itself. 

It  is  objected,  indeed,  that  this  instance  is  inad- 
missible, because  Jesus  sustained  to  those  who  may 
be  calle  d  His  friends  the  higher  relationship  of 
Saviour ;  and  between  those  standing  on  such 
different  levels,  it  is  contended,  real  friendship  was 
impossible. 

But  He  Himself  called  the  Twelve  His  friends  : 
"  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  servants,  but  friends." 
From  among  the  Twelve  He  made  special  com- 
panions of  three — Peter,  James  and  John  ;  and 
of  these  three  John  was  specially  the  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved.  We  are  told  that  "Jesus  loved  Martha 
and  her  sister  and  Lazarus  ; "  and  this  notice  surely 
implies  that  He  stood  in  an  attitude  of  peculiar 
friendliness  towards  the  members  of  the  family  of 
Bethany.  Merely  as  the  Saviour,  He  is  hardly 
to  be  thought  of  as  loving  one  of  those  He  has 
saved  more  than   another  ;   He  loves  them  all  alike. 


CHRIST  AS  A   FRIEND.  95 

But  in  the  cases  just  quoted  He  showed  preferences 
for  some  of  His  followers  over  others ;  and  this 
seems  to  prove  that  within  the  wider  and  higher 
relationship  between  Saviour  and  saved  there  was 
scope  for  the  strictly  human   tie  of  friendship. 

II. 

Among  those  who  have  written  on  the  subject 
of  friendship  it  has  been  discussed  whether  the  best 
friend  is  he  who  loves  most  or  he  who  bestows  the 
greatest  benefits. 

Much  may  be  said  on  both  sides  ;  for,  on  the  one 
hand,  there  is  an  infinite  solace  in  the  sincere  affec- 
tion of  even  the  humblest  friend,  however  unable 
he  may  be  to  render  any  material  service  ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  in  the  perplexities  and  misfortunes 
of  life,  which  come  to  all,  it  is  an  unspeakable 
advantage  to  have  one  with  a  sound  judgment  and 
a  helpful  hand,  who  will  interest  himself  in  our 
affairs  as  if  they  were  his  own,  because  he  is  our 
friend.  Yet  I  venture  to  think  that  neither  of  these 
is  the  pearl  of  friendship  ;  there  is  something  in  it 
more  valuable  than  either. 

Let  any  one  who  has  drunk  deeply  of  this  well- 
spring  of  happiness  look  back  and  ask  what  has 
been  the  sweetest  ingredient  in  it :  let  him  recall 
the  friend   of  his  heart,  whose  image  is   associated 


96  IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


with  the  choicest  hours  of  his  experience ;  and  then 
let  him  say  what  is  the  secret  and  the  soul  of  his 
satisfaction.  If  your  friendship  has  been  of  a  high 
order,  the  soul  of  it  is  simply  the  worth  of  him 
you  are  allowed  to  call  your  friend.  He  is  genuine 
to  the  core ;  you  know  him  through  and  through, 
and  nowhere  is  there  any  twist  or  doubleness  or 
guile.  It  may  be  a  false  and  disappointing  world, 
but  you  have  known  at  least  one  heart  that  has 
never  deceived  you  ;  and,  amidst  much  that  may 
have  happened  to  lower  your  estimate  of  mankind, 
the  image  of  your  friend  has  enabled  you  always  to 
believe  in  human  nature.  Surely  this  is  the  incom- 
parable gain  of  friendship — fellowship  with  a  simple, 
pure  and  lofty  soul. 

If  it  is,  what  must  have  been  the  charm  of  the 
friendship  of  Jesus !  If  even  the  comparatively 
common  and  imperfect  specimens  of  human  nature 
we  have  known  can  make  impressions  so  delightful, 
what  must  it  have  been  to  see  closely  that  heart 
which  was  always  beating  with  the  purest  love  to 
God  and  man,  that  mind  which  was  a  copious  and 
ever-springing  fountain  of  such  thoughts  as  have 
been  preserved  to  us  in  the  Gospels,  that  character 
in  which  the  minutest  investigation  has  never 
detected  a  single  spot  or  wrinkle !  As  we  read 
the  records  of  the  great  and  good,  we  cannot  help 


CHRIST  AS  A   FRIEND.  97 

sometimes  wishing  it  had  been  our  lot  to  follow 
Plato  in  his  garden,  or  to  hear  the  table-talk  of 
Luther,  or  to  sit  with  Bunyan  in  the  sunshine  of  the 
streets  of  Bedford,  or  to  listen  to  Coleridge  bodying 
forth  the  golden  clouds  of  his  philosophy.  But  what 
would  any  such  privilege  have  been  in  comparison 
with  that  of  Mary,*  who  sat  at  Jesus'  feet  and  heard 
His  words  ;  or  that  of  John,  who  leant  on  His  bosom 
and  listened  to  the  beating  of  His  heart  ? 

HI. 

If  that  which  has  just  been  mentioned  is  the 
prime  excellence  of  friendship,  love  holds  in  it 
the  second  place. 

Friendship  is  not  the  mere  claim  which  one  man 
may  make  on   another  because  he  was  born  in  the 


•  The  heathen  held  woman  to  be  unfit  for  this  relationship, 
and  too  many  Christian  thinkers  have  followed  in  their  footsteps, 
alleging  such  pleas  as  that  a  woman  cannot  keep  a  secret  or  that 
she  cannot  give  counsel  in  affairs  of  difficulty.  But  Jesus  "  loved 
Martha  and  her  sister  ; "  some  of  His  friends  were  women.  Thus 
He  vindicated  the  right  of  women  to  this  honourable  position, 
and  hundreds  of  the  best  and  manliest  of  His  servants  have 
since  experienced  the  solace  and  strength  springing  from  the 
friendship  of  good  women  ;  and,  as  one  of  them  (Jeremy  Taylor) 
has  said,  "  a  woman  can  love  as  passionately,  and  converse  as 
pleasantly,  and  retain  a  secret  as  faithfully,  and  be  useful  in  her 
proper  ministries ;  and  she  can  die  for  her  friend  as  well  as  any 
Roman  knight." 


98  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


same  village  or  sat  on  the  same  bench  at  school ; 
it  is  not  the  acquaintance  of  neighbours  who  have 
learned  to  like  one  another  by  daily  gossiping  from 
door  to  door,  but  would,  if  separated,  forget  one 
another  in  a  month  ;  it  is  not  the  tryst  of  roysterers, 
or  the  chance  acquaintance  of  fellow-travellers,  or 
the  association  of  the  members  of  a  political  party.* 
In  real  friendship  there  is  always  the  knitting  of 
soul  to  soul,  the  exchange  of  heart  for  heart.  In 
the  classical  instance  of  friendship  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, its  inception  is  exquisitely  described  :  "  And  it 
came  to  pass,  when  he  had  made  an  end  of  speaking 
unto  Saul,  that  the  soul  of  Jonathan  was  knit  with 
the  soul  of  David,  and  Jonathan  loved  him  as  his 
own  soul."  A  union  like  this  is  formed  not  to  be 
broken,  and,  if  it  is  broken,  it  can  only  be  with  the 
tearing  of  the  flesh  and  the  loss  of  much  blood. 

I  cannot,  however,  agree  with  those  who  maintain 
that  true  friendship,  like  wedded  love,  can  have  but 

•  "  Zu  trauter  Freundschaft  ist  es  nicht  genug, 
Dass  man  auf  Du  und  Du  ein  Glas  geleert, 
Auf  Einer  Schulbank  bei  einander  sass, 
In  Einem  Cafe  oft  zusammentraf, 
Sich  auf  der  Strasse  hoflich  unterhielt, 
Im  selben  Club  dieselben  Lieder  sang, 
Als  Publicisten  Eine  Farbe  trug, 
Auch  in  der  Presse  sich  einander  pries." 

Baggesen,  quoted  b}'  Mjtrtensen. 


CHRIST  AS  A   FRIEND.  99 


one  object  at  a  time.  One  of  the  finest  spirits  of 
our  century,  a  thinker  conversant  with  all  the  heights 
and  depths  of  man's  relationships  with  man,*  has 
argued  strongly  in  favour  of  this  position,  and  he 
silences  all  objectors  by  replying  that,  if  you  think 
you  have  more  friends  than  one,  this  only  proves 
that  you  have  not  yet  found  the  true  one.  But  this 
is  to  misinterpret  the  nature  of  this  affection,  and 
force  on  it  a  rule  belonging  to  quite  a  different 
passion.  At  all  events,  the  example  of  Christ 
appears  to  support  this  view,  and  to  prove  that  in 
friendship  there  may  be  different  degrees,  and  that 
the  heart  is  capable  of  enjoying  several  friendships 
at  the  same  time. 

IV. 

The  love  of  friends  is  an  active  passion,  and 
delights  in  rendering  services  and  bestowing  benefits. 

So  sensible  of  this  were  the  ancients  that,  in 
discussing  the  duties  of  friendship,  what  they  asked 
was,  not  how  much  one  friend  ought  to  do  for 
another,  but  where  the  limit  was  at  which  he  ought 
to  stop.  They  took  it  for  granted  that  he  would 
do,  suffer    and   give   all    he   could    for    his    friend's 

♦  RoTHE.  See  his  Ethik,  vol.  iv.,  p.  67.  Germany  is  fortunate 
in  having  such  examples  of  friendship  among  its  greatest  men  as 
that  of  Luther  and  Melanchthon,  and  that  of  Goethe  and  Schiller 


lOO  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


sake ;  and  they  only  prescribed  to  him  to  restrain 
himself  at  the  point  where  his  zeal  might  clash 
with  some  still  higher  obligation  to  his  family,  his 
country  or  his  God.  In  accordance  with  this  they 
represented  friendship  in  art  as  a  young  man  bare- 
headed and  rudely  attired,  to  signify  activity  and 
aptness  for  service.  Upon  the  fringe  of  his  garment 
was  written  .  Death  and  Life,  as  signifying  that  in 
life  and  death  friendship  is  the  same.  On  his 
forehead  was  inscribed  Summer  and  Winter,  mean- 
ing that  in  prosperity  or  adversity  friendship  knows 
no  change  except  in  the  variety  of  its  services.  The 
left  shoulder  and  the  arm  were  naked  down  to  the 
heart,  to  which  the  finger  of  the  right  hand  pointed 
at  the  words  Far  and  Near,  which  expressed  that 
true  friendship  is  not  impaired  by  time  or  dissolved 
by  distance.* 

Of  this  feature  in  the  friendships  of  Jesus  it  would 
be  easy  to  give  examples  ;  but  none  could  be  more 
striking  than  His  behaviour  at  the  death  and  re- 
surrection of  Lazarus.  Every  step  of  His  on  this 
occasion  is  characteristic.  His  abiding  two  days 
still  in  the  place  where  He  was,  after  receiving  the 
news  of  His  friend's  death,  in  order  to  make  the 
gift  He  was   about   to  bestow  more  valuable ;    His 

*  From  Jeremy  Taylor's  treatise  on  Friendship 


CHRIST  AS  A   FRIEND. 


venturing  into  Jud?ea  in  spite  of  the  dangers  He 
was  exposed  to  and  the  fears  of  the  Twelve ;  His 
fanning  into  flame  of  Martha's  weak  faith ;  His 
secret  sending  for  Mary,  that  she  might  not  miss 
the  great  spectacle ;  His  sympathy  with  the  emotions 
of  the  scene,  so  intense  that  He  wept  and  the  spec- 
tators exclaimed,  "  Behold,  how  He  loved  him  ; " 
His  preparation  of  the  sisters,  by  His  prayer,  for 
the  shock  of  seeing  their  brother  emerging  from  the 
sepulchre  in  his  graveclothes  ;  and  then  the  bene- 
faction of  his  resurrection — all  these  are  traits  of  a 
love  that  was  delicate  as  a  woman's  heart,  strong 
as  death   and   bountiful  as  heaven. 

But  friendship  can  sometimes  show  its  strength 
as  much  by  the  readiness  with  which  it  accepts 
benefits  as  by  the  freedom  with  which  it  gives  them. 
It  proves  by  this  its  confidence  in  the  love  on  the 
other  side.  Jesus  gave  such  a  proof  of  the  depth  of 
His  friendship  for  John  when,  hanging  on  the  cross, 
He  asked  the  beloved  disciple  to  adopt  Mary  as 
his  own  mother.  Never  was  there  a  more  delicate 
expression  given  to  friendship.  Jesus  did  not  ask 
him  if  he  would  ;  He  took  his  devotion  for  granted  ; 
and  this  trust  was  the  greatest  honour  that  could 
have  been  conferred  on  the  disciple. 


loa  IMAGO  CHRISTl. 


V. 

It  is  a  well-known  characteristic  of  friendship  that 
friends  enjoy  being  in  each  other's  company  and 
hearing  each  other  talk,  and  that  they  admit  one 
another  to  the  knowledge  of  secrets  which  they 
would  not  reveal'  to  the  world  at  large. 

It  is  the  commonest  saying  about  two  very  in- 
timate friends,  that  if  you  are  seeking  the  one,  you 
will  do  best  to  resort  to  the  abode  of  the  other. 
In  each  other's  company  they  are  at  peace  ;  speech 
between  them  is  hardly  necessary,  for  they  have  a 
subtler  way  of  divining  thought  and  feeling,  and  it 
is  a  precious  privilege  of  friends  to  be  silent  in  each 
other's  company  without  awkwardness.  Yet,  when 
the  gates  of  speech  are  opened,  there  is  an  out- 
pouring of  the  mind's  wealth  such  as  takes  place 
in  no  other  circumstances.  For  nothing  needs  to  be 
concealed.  The  shy  thought,  which  scarcely  ventured 
to  show  its  face  even  to  its  own  creator,  is  tempted 
out  ;  the  hardy  opinion  utters  itself  without  fear  ; 
confidence  is  responded  to  with  confidence ;  like 
two  coals,  burning  feebly  apart,  which,  when  flung 
together,  make  a  merry  blaze,  so  mind  and  mind 
burn  as  they  touch,  and  emit  splendours  which 
nothing  but  this  contact  could  evoke.  He  is  ignorant 
of  one  of  the  most  glorious  prerogatives  of  manhood 


CHRIST  AS  A   FRIEND.  103 

who  does  not  carry,  treasured  in  his  mind,  the 
recollection  of  such  golden  hours  of  the  feast  of 
reason  and  the  flow  of  soul. 

Jesus  expressly  chose  the  Twelve  "that  they 
might  be  with  Him."  For  three  years  they  were 
His  constant  companions ;  and  often  He  would 
take  them  away  into  uninhabited  spots  or  on 
distant  journeys  for  the  express  purpose  of  enjoying 
with  them  more  uninterrupted  intercourse.  In  the 
Gospel  of  St.  John  we  have  notes  of  these  conver- 
sations, and  from  the  wide  contrast  between  the 
sayings  of  Jesus  in  this  Gospel  and  those  reported  in 
the  Synoptists,  which  rather  represent  His  addresses 
to  the  people  at  large,  we  may  perceive  how  fully 
in  these  interviews  He  opened  to  the  Twelve  His 
secret  mind.  And  the  kind  of  impressions  which 
they  received  from  these  confidences  may  be  learned 
from  the  saying  of  the  two  with  whom  He  conversed 
on  the  way  to  Emmaus:  "Did  not  our  heart  burn 
within  us  as  He  talked  with  us  by  the  way,  and  as 
He  opened   to  us  the    Scriptures  ? " 

The  minds  of  the  most  favoured  apostles  especially 
carried  in  subsequent  years  the  priceless  memory  of 
many  great  hours  like  this,  when,  with  hearts  lost  in 
wonder,  they  gazed  into  the  vast  and  mystic  realm 
of  the  thoughts  of  Christ.  And  they  were  vouch- 
safed a  few  hours  even  greater,  when  He  took  them 


I04  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


away  with  Him  to  pray ;  as  He  did,  for  instance, 
when  they  beheld  His  glory  in  the  Holy  Mount, 
or  when  He  invited  them  to  watch  with  Him  in 
Gethsemane.  Never  surely  was  He  so  unmistakably 
the  human  friend  as  when,  on  the  latter  occasion, 
He  threw  Himself  on  their  sympathy,  entreating 
them   to  be  near   Him  in  His  agony. 

These  scenes  excite  our  wonder  that  any  should 
have  been  admitted  so  far  into  His  secret  life. 
Were  not  these  hours  of  prayer  especially  too 
sacred  for  any  mortal  eyes  to  see  ?  That  His  friends 
were  admitted  to  them  proves  that  it  is  a  prerogative 
of  friendship  to  be  admitted  far  into  the  secrets  of 
religious  experience. 

It  is  a  truncated  and  most  imperfect  friendship 
when  the  gateway  of  this  region  is  closed  ;  for  it 
means  that  the  one  friend  is  excluded  from  the  most 
important  province  of  the  other's  life.  Hence  it 
may  be  affirmed  that  friendship  in  its  highest  sense 
can  exist  only  between   Christians ;  *  and  even  they 

*  "  Ihre  hochste  Intensitat  hat  die  Freundschaft  als  religiose 
Freundschaft,  als  Wahlanziehung  der  Freunde  vermoge  der 
specifischen  Wahlverwandtschaft  ihrer  religiosen  Individuali- 
taten.  Denn  wegen  der  wesentlich  centralen  Stellung  der 
Frommigkeit  im  Menschen  ist  die  religiose  specifische  Sympathie 
der  Individuen  wesentlich  specifische  Sympathie  derselben  nach 
der  Totalitat  ihrer  sittlichen  Individualitat,  nach  dem  gan-zen 
innersten  Kern  derselben." — Rothe,  Christliche  Eihik,  vol.  iv., 
p.  68. 


CHRIST  AS  A   FRIEND.  105 

only  taste  the  bloom  on  this  cup  when  they  have 
arrived  at  the  stage  of  free  and  frequent  converse 
on  those  themes  which  were  native  to  the  mouth 
of  Christ. 

VI. 

Friendship,  like  everything  else,  is  tested  by 
results.  If  you  wish  to  know  the  value  of  any 
friendship,  you  must  ask  what  it  has  done  for  you 
and  what   it  has  made  you. 

The  friendship  of  Jesus  could  stand  this  test. 
Look  at  the  Twelve !  Consider  what  they  were 
before  they  knew  Him,  and  think  what  His  influence 
made  them  and  what  position  they  occupy  now ! 
They  were  humble  men,  some  of  them,  perhaps, 
with  unusual  natural  gifts,  but  rude  and  undeveloped 
everyone.  Without  Him  they  would  never  have 
been  anything.  They  would  have  lived  and  died  in 
the  obscurity  of  their  peasant  occupations  and  been 
laid  in  unmarked  graves  by  the  blue  waters  of  the 
Sea  of  Galilee.  They  would  never  have  been  heard 
of  twenty  miles  from  home,  and  would  all  have 
been  forgotten  in  less  than  a  century.  But  His 
intercourse  and  conversation  raised  them  to  a  place 
among  the  best  and  wisest  of  the  sons  of  men  ;  and 
they  now  sit  on  thrones,  ruling  the  modern  world 
with   their  ideas  and  example. 


lo6  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


Our  friendships,  too,  must  submit  to  this  test. 
There  are  friendships  so  called  which  are  hke  mill- 
stones dragging  down  those  who  are  tied  to  them 
into  degradation  and  shame.  But  true  friendship 
purifies  and  exalts.  A  friend  may  be  a  second 
conscience.  The  consciousness  of  what  he  expects 
from  us  may  be  a  spur  to  high  endeavour.  The  mere 
memory  that  he  exists,  though  it  be  at  a  distance, 
may  stifle  unworthy  thoughts  and  prevent  unworthy 
actions.  Even  when  the  fear  of  facing  our  own 
conscience  might  not  be  strong  enough  to  restrain 
us  from  evil,  the  knowledge  that  our  conduct  will 
have  to  encounter  his  judgment  will  make  the  com- 
mission of  what  is  base  intolerable. 

Among  the  privileges  of  friendship  one  of  the 
most  valuable  is  the  right  of  being  told  our  faults  by 
our  friend.  There  are  ridiculous  traits  of  character 
in  every  man  which  all  eyes  see  except  his  own  ; 
and  there  are  dangers  to  character  which  the  eye  of 
a  friend  can  discern  long  before  they  are  visible  to 
ourselves.  It  requires  some  tact  to  administer  such 
reproof,  and  it  requires  some  grace  to  take  it  grate- 
fully ;  but  "  faithful  are  the  wounds  of  a  friend,"  and 
there  are  few  gifts  of  friendship  more  highly  to  be 
prized  than  words  of  wise  correction.* 

*  Cicero  adds  something    more:  "Ut    igitur  et    m  on  ere  et 
moneri  proprium  est  verse  amicitiae,  et  alterum   libere  facere, 


CHRIST  AS  A   FRIEND.  107 

Whilst,  however,  we  estimate  the  value  of  the 
friendships  we  enjoy  by  their  influence  on  us,  it 
is  no  less  important  to  remember  that  our  own 
conduct  in  this  relationship  has  to  stand  the  same 
test.  Is  it  good  for  my  friend  that  I  am  his 
friend  ?  In  the  maturity  of  his  fully-formed  judg- 
ment will  he  look  back  on  the  connection  with 
approval  ?  At  the  judgment-seat  and  in  eternity 
will  he  prize  it  ?  A  man  will  hesitate  to  answer 
these  questions ;  but  surely  there  is  no  object 
worthier  of  intense  desire  and  earnest  prayer  than 
that  our  friendship  may  never  be  detrimental  to 
him  we  love — that  it  may  never  pull  him  down, 
but  Kelp  to  raise  and  sustain  him.  Would  it  not 
be  a  prize  better  than  any  earthly  distinction,  if  in 

non  aspere,  alterum  patienter  accipere,  non  repugnanter;  sic 
habendum  est,  nullam  in  amicitiis  pestem  esse  majorem, 
quam  adulationem,  blanditiam,  assentationem :  multis  enim 
nominibus  est  hoc  vitium  notandum  levium  hominum  atquc 
yallacium,  ad  voluntatem  loquentium  omnia,  nihil  ad  veri- 
tatem.  Cum  autem  omnium  rerum  simulatio  vitiosa  est  (toUit 
enim  judicium  veri  idque  adulterat),  tum  amicitiae  repugnat 
maxime :  delet  enim  veritatem,  sine  qua  nomen  amicitiae  valere 
non  potest.  Nam  cum  amicitiae  vis  sit  in  eo,  ut  imus  quasi 
animus  fiat  ex  pkiribus,  qui  id  fieri  poterit,  si  ne  in  uno 
quidem  quoque  unus  animus  erit  idemque  semper,  sed  varius, 
commutabilis,  multiplex?  Quid  enim  potest  esse  tam  flexibil' 
tam  devium,  quam  animus  eius  qui  ad  alterius  non  mode  sensua 
ac  voluntatem,  sed  etiam  vultum  atque  nutum  conv-ertitur  ?  " —  Di 
Amiciiid,  cap.  25. 


io8  IMAGO   CHRISTl. 


the  distant  years,  when  we  are  old  and  grey-headed, 
or  perhaps  beneath  the  sod,  there  were  one  or 
two  who  could  say,  "His  influence  was  a  redeeming 
element  in  my  life  ;  he  made  me  believe  in  goodness 
and  think  highly  of  human  nature ;  and  I  thank 
God  I  ever  knew  him  ?" 

There  is  no  way  in  which  we  can  have  any 
guarantee  of  exerting  such  an  influence  except  by 
keeping  ourselves  in  contact  with  the  great  source 
of  good  influence.  Christ  was  the  friend  of  Peter 
and  John  and  James,  of  Martha  and  Mary  and 
Lazarus,  in  Palestine  long  ago.  But  He  is  still  the 
friend  of  men  ;  and,  if  we  wish  it.  He  will  be  ours. 
There  are  those  who  walk  with  Him  and  talk  with 
Him.  They  meet  Him  in  the  morning  when  they 
awake  ;  He  is  with  them  in  the  street  and  at  their 
work  ;  they  tell  Him  their  secrets  and  appeal  to 
Him  in  every  time  of  need  ;  they  know  Him  better 
than  any  other  friend.  And  these  are  they  who 
have  found  the  secret  of  existence  and  keep  alive 
the  faith  of  mankind  in  the  reality  of  the  life  of 
Christ. 


VI 
CHRIST  IN   SOCIETY 


Matt.  xi.  16-19.  Matt.  xxvi.  6-13. 

Luke  XV.  I,  2.  Luke  vii.  36- 5a 

„      xix.  5-7.  John  ii.  I-II. 

„     xxiv.  41-43.  „    xii.  1-8. 

Luke  xi.  37-44.  Matt.  xiv.  15-21. 

„    xiv.  1-24.  „     xxvi.  26-30. 

Luke  xxiv.  29-31. 
John  xiii.  I- 15. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

CHRIST   IN   SOCIETY. 

"D  EYOND  the  narrow  circle  of  those  whom  we 
■*-^  properly  call  our  friends,  there  is  a  large  circle 
of  acquaintances,  brought  into  connection  with  us  in 
various  ways,  which  may  be  designated  by  the  vague 
term  Society.  Our  intercourse  with  those  to  whom 
we  are  thus  related  raises  questions  which  are  not 
free  from  difficulty,  but  they  receive  light  from  the 
study  of  the  conduct  of  Jesus. 

L 

In  this  relationship  there  was  a  remarkable 
contrast  between  our  Lord  and  His  forerunner,  the 
Baptist.  John  shunned  society,  living  in  the  desert 
far  from  the  abodes  of  men.  His  clothing  was 
unsuited  for  the  house  or  the  town,  and  he  con- 
fined himself  to  the  ascetic  fare  of  a  hermit.  The 
Saviour,  on  the  contrary,  descended  among  His 
fellowmen.  Instead  of  waiting,  like  the  Baptist, 
till    people  went   out  to  Him,    He  came   to    them. 


IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


In  village  and  city,  in  street  and  market-place,  in 
synagogue    and    Temple — wherever    two    or    three 
were  gathered  together,  there  was  He  in  the  midst 
of  them.     He  entered  beneath  men's  roofs,  to  rejoice 
with  them  when    they  were  rejoicing  and  to  weep 
with  them  when  they  wept.     It  is  astonishing  how 
often  we  read  of  His  being  at  feasts.     He  began  His 
ministry  by  attending  a  wedding.     Matthew  made 
Him  a  feast,  and  He  went  and  sat  down  among  the 
publican's  motley  guests.      He  invited  Himself  to  the 
house  of  Zacchaeus,  another  publican.     Indeed,  His 
eating  with  this  class  of  persons  came  to  be  notorious. 
But,  when  people  from  the  other  end  of  the  social 
scale  invited  Him,  He  accepted  their  hospitality  with 
equal  readiness  and  sat  down  as  frankly  with  scribes 
and  Pharisees  as  among  publicans  and  sinners.     St. 
Luke   mentions   at  least  three  occasions   when   He 
dined    with    Pharisees.      Thus,    "  the   Son   of   man 
came   eating  and   drinking."       Indeed,   so   free  was 
His  conduct  in  this  respect,  that  sour  and  narrow- 
souled   critics   were  able  to  call    Him  a  gluttonous 
man  and  a  wine-bibber.     False  as  these  nicknames 
were,  they  derived  a  colour  of  truth  from  His  way  of 
living  ;  none  would  ever  have  dreamed  of  applying 
them  to  the  Baptist. 

This     contrast    is     remarkable    between    two     so 
closely   associated    as  John    and  Jesus.      Both  were 


CHRIST  IN  SOCIETY.  113 

religious  teachers,  whose  disciples  imitated  them ; 
but  in  this  particular  their  examples  led  in  opposite 
directions.  The  disciples  of  John  fasted,  while 
Christ's  disciples  feasted.  Could  these  opposite 
courses  both  be  justified  ? 

The  Baptist  no  doubt  had  reasons  for  his  con- 
duct which  satisfied  himself.  There  are  dangers 
in  society.  The  lust  of  the  flesh  and  the  lust  of 
the  eyes  and  the  pride  of  hfe  are  there.  Company 
is  the  ruin  of  many  a  man  and  of  many  a  family. 
There  are  social  circles  in  which  religion  would  not 
be  tolerated,  and  there  are  others  in  which  those 
who  profess  it  are  under  sore  temptation  to  hide 
their  colours.  The  Baptist  felt  that  these  influences 
were  so  predominant  in  the  society  of  his  day  that 
neither  he  nor  his  followers  could  bear  up  against 
them.  The  only  alternatives  between  which  they 
had  to  choose  were  either,  on  the  one  hand,  to  flee 
from  society  and  keep  their  religion  pure  and  entire 
or,  on  the  other,  to  enter  it  and  lose  their  religion  ; 
and  there  could  be  no  doubt  which  was  the  path  of 
duty.*     Jesus,  on  the  contrary,  could  go  into  society 


•  John  was  well  aware,  however,  of  the  imperfection  of  his 
own  standpoint.  "  He  pointed  across  to  the  sweetness,  freedom 
and  glory  of  the  new  dispensation,  as  Moses  from  Pisgah  saw 
the  land  of  promise." — Schleiermacher,  Predigten,  vol.  iv.  In 
this  volume  there  are  four  discourses  which  may  be  called  a  kind 


/I4  IMAGO  CHRIST!. 


not  only  without  striking  His  colours,  but  for  the 
purpose  of  displaying  them.  So  completely  was 
His  religious  character  the  whole  of  Him,  and  so 
powerful  and  victorious  were  His  principles,  that 
there  was  no  fear  of  any  company  He  might  enter 
obscuring  His  testimony  for  God.  And  He  lent 
His  followers  the  same  power  :  He  filled  them  with 
an  enthusiasm  which  wrought  in  them  like  new 
wine  ;  they  moved  through  the  world  with  the  free 
and  glad  bearing  of  wedding  guests  ;  and  therefore 
wherever  they  went  they  gave  the  tone  to  society ; 
their  enthusiasm  was  so  exuberant  that  it  was  far 
more  likely  to  set  others  on  fire  than  to  be 
extinguished  by  worldly  influences. 

Here  we  seem  to  find  the  true  answer  to  the 
perplexing  questions  often  raised  as  to  how  far 
the  people  of  God  ought  to  venture  into  society 
and  take  part  in  its  engagements.  What  is  its 
effect  on  your  religious  life  and  profession  ?  Does 
it  silence  your  testimony  }  does  it  cool  down  your 
enthusiasm  }  does  it  secularise  you  and  render  you 


of  sketch  of  what  has  been  attempted  in  this  book.     They  are 
entitled — 

Christ  as  a  Teacher. 

Christ  as  a  Miracle-Worker 

Christ  in  Social  Life. 

Christ  among  His  disciples. 


CHRIST  IN  SOCIETY.  115 

unfit  for  prayer  ?  If  so,  then  you  must  adopt  the 
Baptist's  line  of  conduct  and  keep  away  from  it, 
or  seek  for  company  in  which  your  principles  will 
be  safe.  But  there  are  those  who  can  venture 
far  into  the  world  and  yet  everywhere  be  true  to 
their  Saviour ;  they  are  known  as  Christians  wher- 
ever they  appear,  and  people  respect  their  position  ; 
they  would  not  go  anywhere  if  they  knew  that  theii 
mouths  were  to  be  stopped  on  the  subjects  lying 
nearest  their  hearts ;  the  energy  of  Christ  in  them  i? 
so  glowing  and  victorious  a  force  that  they  mould  the 
society  in  which  they  are,  instead  of  being  moulded 
by  it.  This  may  be  a  difficult  attainment  ;  but 
there  can  be  no  doubt  that  it  is  the  attitude  towards 
the  world  most  worthy  of  Christ's  followers  an  J 
like  to  His  own. 

II. 

It  has  been  mentioned  how  often  He  is  recorded 
to  have  been  present  at  feasts.  This  part  of  His 
conduct  was  of  a  piece  with  all  the  rest ;  for 
nothing  He  ever  did,  however  trivial  it  might  seem 
to  be,  was  unconnected  with  the  grand  mission 
upon  which  He  had  come  to  the  world.  This 
mission  was  to  make  known  the  love  of  Heaven 
and  to  awaken  and  foster  love  on  earth.  He  lived 
to  increase  the  love  of  man  to  God  and  the  love  of 


Ii6  IMAGO  CHRIST/. 


man  to  man  ;  and  nothing  which  could  serve  either 
of  these  ends  was  unimportant  in   His  eyes. 

He  encouraged  hospitality  because  it  promotes 
one  of  these  ends :  it  helps  to  break  down  the 
obstacles  which  separate  men  and  to  bind  them 
together  in  the  bonds  of  goodwill.  When  men  meet 
one  another,  the  misconceptions  and  misunder- 
standings which  have  caused  estrangement  dissolve 
in  the  light  of  better  acquaintance.  How  often 
we  come  away  from  a  first  conversation  with  one 
against  whom  we  have  entertained  a  prejudice  with 
the  remark  that  he  is  not  a  bad  fellow  after  all ; 
and  not  unfrequently  after  a  social  rencontre  we 
carry  away  an  enthusiastic  admiration  for  a  charac- 
ter which  we  have  previously  considered  proud,  or 
formal,  or  shallow.  Our  dislikes  and  suspicions 
breed  and  grow  great  at  a  distance,  but  they  die 
at  the  touch  of  actual  acquaintance. 

Jesus  did  not  regard  even  the  courtesies  of  life 
as  beneath  His  notice  and  encouragement.  These 
foster  respect  between  man  and  man,  causing 
us  to  think  of  one  another  as  personalities,  not 
as  things  to  be  neglected  or  trampled  on.  Once 
He  was  invited  to  dine  at  a  house  where  the  host 
neglected  to  show  Him  the  ordinary  Oriental 
courtesies.  The  man  had  no  real  regard  for  his 
Guest,    but    invited    Him   for    a  selfish    purpose   of 


CHRIST  IN  SOCIETY.  t\^ 

his  own.  He  wished  to  gratify  his  curiosity  by 
examining  at  leisure  one  who  was  the  talk  of  the 
country  and  to  honour  himself  by  having  the  dis- 
tinguished man  beneath  his  roof.  But  he  felt  it 
to  be  a  condescension,  and  he  showed  this  by 
omitting  the  courtesies  which  he  bestowed  on  the 
guests  of  his  own  standing.  Jesus  felt  the  slight ; 
and,  before  leaving  the  table.  He  exposed  Sinion's 
little  and  loveless  heart,  enumerating  one  by  one,* 
in  tones  of  scathing  indignation,  the  courtesies  he 
had  grudged  Him.  He  could  not  enjoy  a  loveless 
feast. 

Where,  on  the  contrary,  love  was.  He  would 
not  have  it  controlled.  When,  at  the  feast  of 
another  Simon,  His  gentle  disciple  Mary  poured 
her  costly  treasure  on  His  head  and  brought  down 
on  herself  the  reproaches  of  narrow  hearts  that 
grudged  the  extravagance,  Jesus  defended  her 
against  the  pretended  champions  of  the  poor  and 
insisted  on  love  having  its  way. 

It  is  a  violation  of  the  sacrament  of  hospitality 

•  "  Notanda  sunt  antitheta  in  quibus  Simoni  mulier  prsefertur : 
nempe  quod  hsec  lachrymis  suis  rigavit  Christi  pedes,  et  capillis 
abstersit,  quum  ille  ne  vulgarem  quidem  aquam  dari  jussisset : 
quod  haec  non  desierit  osculari  pedes,  quum  ille  ne  hospital! 
quidem  osculo  dignatus  esset  Christum  excipere :  quod  pretiosum 
unguentum  ilia  effuderit  in  pedes,  hie  autem  ne  oleo  quidem 
caput  unxerit." — Calvin,  in  loc. 


Ii8  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


when  any  other  motive  underlies  it  but  love,  Jesus 
pointed  the  finger  of  condemnation  at  those  who 
extend  hospitality  only  to  guests  who,  they  hope, 
will  extend  it  to  them  in  turn,  thus  degrading  it 
to  a  business  transaction.  It  is,  if  possible,  a 
meaner  motive  still  to  make  it  only  an  opportunity 
of  selfish  display.  Cumbrous  luxury  is  the  death 
of  true  hospitality.  It  narrows  the  scope  of  it  ; 
for  even  the  wealthy  can  indulge  but  seldom  in 
such  extravagance,  and  people  of  humbler  means 
are  not  able  to  face  it  at  all  except  at  the  risk 
of  ruin.  This  is  one  of  the  growing  evils  of  the 
present  day.  With  the  money  spent  on  a  single 
tiresome  feast,  half  a  dozen  simple  and  frugal 
entertainments  might  be  furnished  forth,  and  thus 
the    scope    of   hospitality    widened.*       Instead    of 

•  '•  Hospitality  is  threefold : — for  one's  family,  this  is  of  neces- 
sity ;  for  strangers,  this  is  courtesy ;  for  the  poor,  this  is  charity. 

"To  keep  a  disorderly  house  is  the  way  to  keep  neither 
house  nor  lands.  For  whilst  they  keep  the  greatest  roaring, 
their  state  steals  away  in  the  greatest  silence.  Yet,  when  many 
consume  themselves  with  secret  vices,  then  hospitality  bears  the 
blame  ;  whereas  it  is  not  the  meat  but  the  sauce,  not  the  supper 
but  the  gaming  after  it,  doth  undo  them. 

"  Measure  not  the  entertainment  of  a  guest  by  his  estate,  but 
THINE  OWN.  Because  he  is  a  lord  forget  not  that  thou  art  but  a 
gentleman  ;  otherwise,  if  with  feasting  him  thou  breakest  thyself, 
he  will  not  cure  thy  rupture,  and  (perchance)  may  rather  deride 
than  pity  thee."— Fuller,   The  Holy  and  Profane  State. 


CHRIST  IN  SOCIETY.  119 

gorging  the  wealthy,  who  have  too  much  already, 
influential  entertainers  might  occasionally  open  their 
doors  to  those  younger  and  humbler  than  themselves, 
and  parents  might  assemble  often  round  their  tables 
suitable  company  for  their  children,  instead  of 
driving  them  to  public  places  to  seek  occupation 
for  their  hours  of  leisure.  There  is  a  mission  of 
social  kindness  still  remaining  to  be  opened  up 
as  one  of  the  agencies  of  Christianity. 

III. 

Though  the  encouragement  of  hospitality,  and 
through  it  of  love,  was  one  reason  for  which  Jesus 
went  to  the  tables  of  those  who  invited  Him,  He 
carried  there  a  still  higher  purpose.  When  He 
went  to  dine  at  the  house  of  Zacchseus,  He  said, 
"  To-day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house ; "  and 
salvation  came  to  many  a  house  when  He  entered 
it.  Hospitality  affords  unrivalled  opportunities  of 
conversation,  and  Jesus  made  use  of  these  to  speak 
words  of  eternal  life.  If  you  carefully  examine 
His  words,  you  will  be  surprised  to  find  how 
many  of  them  are  literally  table-talk — words  spoken 
to  His  fellow-guests  at  meals.  Some  of  His  most 
priceless  sayings,  which  are  now  the  watchwords 
of  His  religion,  were  uttered  in  these  commonplace 
circumstances,  such  as,  "  They  that  pre  whole  have 


lAfAGO  CHRISTt. 


no  need  of  ^  physician,  but  they  that  are  sick  ; " 
"  The  Son  of  man  is  come  to  seek  and  to  save 
that  which  was  lost ; "  and   many  more.     • 

This  is  an  instance  of  how  Jesus  dignified  life 
and  found  golden  opportunities  of  doing  good  in 
those  elements  of  it  which  are  often  treated  as 
mere  waste.  The  talk  and  the  hilarity  of  the 
table  are  a  snare.  Men  of  social  charm  often 
use  their  gift  to  their  own  undoing  and  to  the 
injury  of  others.  The  meeting-place  of  boon  com- 
panions is  to  many  the  vestibule  of  ruin.  Even 
where  sociality  is  not  permitted  to  degenerate  into 
temptation,  the  conversation  of  the  table  is  too 
often  allowed  to  lapse  into  triviality  and  stupidity; 
and  the  meetings  of  friends,  which  might  give 
intellectual  stimulus  and  kindle  noble  purpose, 
become  a  weariness  and  satisfy  nobody.  It  is  a 
rare  gift  to  be  able  to  lift  conversation  out  of  the 
ditch  and  lead  it  to  manly  and  profitable  themes. 

There  have,  however,  been  servants  of  God  who 
in  this  respect  have  followed  very  closely  in  the 
footsteps  of  their  Master.  They  have  made  con- 
versation a  delightful  and  profitable  art ;  and  to 
enjoy  their  company  in  the  free  interchange  of  social 
intercourse  has  been  an  education  in  everything 
good  and  true.  A  man  of  note  recently  deceased, 
son  of  a  father  still  more  notable,  has  left  a  striking 


CHRIST  IN  SOCIETY.  Xz\ 

picture  of  the  circle  of  scholars  and  men  of  God 
who  used  to  be  assembled  round  his  father's 
hospitable  table,  and  of  the  wonder  and  delight 
with  which  he  and  his  brothers,  then  only  children, 
used  to  listen  to  the  discussions  and  pick  up  the 
crumbs  of  wisdom.*  No  parent  can  do  his  chil- 
dren a  better  service  than  by  making  his  house  a 
resort  of  the  wise  and  good,  in  whom  the  keen 
observation  of  childhood  may  see  examples  of 
noble  manhood  and  womanhood.  "Be  not  for- 
getful," says  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "  to  enter- 
tain strangers,  for  thereby  some  have  entertained 
angels  unawares  ; "  on  which  one  of  the  wise  has 
thus  commented  :  "  By  exercising  hospitality — by 
treating  with  sympathy  and  hearty  interest  those 
who  are  still  in  many  respects  strangers  to  us — by 
showing  ourselves  kindly   and   opening  our   houses 

•  "  Here  almost  every  night,  for  long  years,  came  Professors 
Dod  and  Maclean,  and  frequently  Professors  J.  W.  Alexander, 
Joseph  Henry,  and  the  older  professors,  A.  Alexander,  and 
Samuel  Miller,  President  Camahan,  and  frequently,  when  visit- 
ing the  town,  Professors  Vethake  and  Torrey,  and  Dr.  John  W. 
Yeomans.  Thus,  at  least  in  the  eyes  of  the  young  sons  gleaming 
out  from  the  corners,  from  the  shadows  of  which  they  looked  on 
with  breathless  interest,  this  study  became  the  scene  of  the 
most  wonderful  debates  and  discourses  on  the  highest  themes  of 
philosophy,  science,  literature,  theology,  morals,  and  politics." 
— Rev.  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge  in  Princetoniana,  by  Rev.  C.  A. 
Salmond,  M.A. 


IMAGO   CHRIST/. 


to  them,  as  circumstances  permit  and  opportunities 
offer — it  may  also  happen  to  us  to  entertain  angels  ; 
that  is,  men  in  whom  we  must  recognise  mes- 
sengers sent  to  us  from  God,  or  from  the  world 
of  mind  and  ideas,  and  whose  sojourn  in  our  house, 
whose  conversation,  whose  influence  on  our  souls, 
may  bring  us  a  blessing  far  outweighing  all  we 
can  do  for  them."  * 

IV. 

We  have  been  looking  at  our  Lord  as  the  guest 
of  others  ;  but  He  comes  before  us  in  the  Gospels 
also  as   Himself  an  entertainer. 

Jesus  never,  indeed,  had  a  house  of  His  own  to 
which  He  could  invite  people.  But  on  the  two 
occasions  when  He  fed  the  five  thousand  and  the 
four  thousand  He  acted  as  entertainer  on  a  colossal 
scale. 

It  was  a  character  in  which  He  was  thoroughly 
Himself ;  for  it  displayed  His  consideration  for 
the  common  wants  of  man.  Spiritual  as  He  was 
and  intent  on  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  He  never 
undervalued  or  overlooked  the  body.  On  the 
contrary,  He  recognised  on  it  the  stamp  and  honour 
of  its  Maker,  and  He  knew  quite  well  that  it  is  often 

*  Martensen,  Christian  Ethics,  vol.  iii. 


CHRIST  IN  SOCIETY.  123 

only  through  the  body  that  the  soul  can  be  reached. 
The  great  majority  of  His  guests  were  doubtless 
poor,  and  it  gratified  His  generous  heart  to  confer 
a  benefit  on  them.  It  was,  indeed,  but  common 
fare  He  gave  them  ;  *  the  table  was  the  ground, 
the  tablecloth  was  the  green  grass,  and  the 
banqueting  hall  was  the  open  air ;  but  never  did 
His  guests  enjoy  a  better  meal,  for  love  presided 
at  the  table,  and  it  is  love  that  makes  an  enter- 
tainment fine. 

As  we  see  Him  there,  beaming  with  genial 
delight  over  the  vast  company,  it  is  impossible  not 
to  think  of  such  words  of  His  as  these :  "  I  am 
the  bread  of  life  ;  "  "  The  bread  which  I  shall  give 
is  My  flesh,  which  I  will  give  for  the  life  of  the 
world."  In  His  teaching  He  delighted  to  repre- 
sent the  gospel  as  a  feast,  to  which  He  invited  all 
the  sons  of  men  in  the  beautiful  spirit  of  a  royal 
host. 

But  nothing  else  shows  so  strikingly  how  charac- 
teristic of  Him  this  spirit  was  as  the  fact  that 
the  memorial  by  which  He  has  chosen  to  be  remem- 
bered to  all  generations  is  a  feast.  He  might  have 
selected  any  one  of  a  hundred  other  mementoes. 
He  might,  for  instance,  have  instituted  among  His 

•  "  Barley  loaves,"  the  bread  of  the  poor. 


1^4  IMAGO   CHRIST/. 


followers  a  periodical  fast.  But  this  would  have 
been  a  thoroughly  unsuitable  memorial  of  Him ; 
for  His  is  a  gospel  of  abundance,  joy  and  union. 
He  chose  what  was  fitting  and  truly  significant ; 
and  so  throughout  all  ages  at  the  head  of  His  own 
table  the  Saviour  sits  in  the  character  of  Entertainer, 
His  face  radiant  with  goodwill  and  His  heart  over- 
flowing with  generosity  ;  and  over  His  head,  on  the 
wall  behind  where  He  sits,  these  words  are  written, 
**  This  Man  receiveth  sinners,  and  eateth  with 
them." 


VII. 

CHRIST  AS  A  MAN   OF  PRAYER 


Matt.  xi.  25,  26.  Matt.  xiv.  23. 

„      xiv.  19.  Mark  i.  35. 

,,     xix.  13.  ,,     xiv.  22,  23. 

„     xxi.  12,  13.  Luke  V.  16, 

„     xxvi.  53. 

Luke  ix.  18.  Matt.  xxvi.  36-44. 

„     xi.  I.  Luke  vi.  12,  13. 
John  vi.  23. 

,,    xiv.  16,  17.  Luke  iii.  21,22. 

a     xvii.  „     ix.  28,  29. 

John  xi.  41,  42. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
CHRIST    AS   A    MAN    OF    PRAYER, 

I. 

'nr^HERE  is  surely  a  mystery  in  the  prayers  of 
-■-  Jesus.  If,  as  we  believe,  He  was  no  less 
than  God,  how  could  God  pray  to  God,  or  what 
need  could  there  be  in  His  nature  for  the  satisfaction 
of  which  He  required  to  pray .-' 

It  may  be  a  partial  answer  to  this  question  to  say 
that  all  prayer  does  not  consist  of  petitions  arising 
from  the  sense  of  need.  Prayer,  indeed,  is  often 
spoken  of,  especially  by  those  who  wish  to  bring  it 
into  ridicule,  as  if  it  consisted  of  nothing  but  a  series 
of  demands  addressed  to  God — to  give  fine  weather, 
or  to  take  away  disease,  or  in  some  other  way  to 
alter  our  circumstances  in  accordance  with  our 
wishes.  But  it  is  not  by  those  who  pray  that 
prayer  is  thus  spoken  of.  In  the  prayers  of  those 
who  pray  most  and  best,  petitions  proper,  I  venture 
to  say,  occupy  only  an  inconsiderable  place.  Much 
of  prayer   expresses  the  fulness  of  the  soul  rather 


128  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


than  its  emptiness.  It  is  the  overflow  of  the  cup. 
Prayer  at  its  best  is,  if  one  may  be  allowed  the 
expression,  conversation  with  God,  the  confidential 
talk  of  a  child  who  tells  everything  to  his  father. 
There  is  a  remarkable  example  of  this  in  the 
Confessions  of  St.  Augustine.  This  great  book  is  in 
the  form  of  a  prayer  from  beginning  to  end  ;  yet 
it  narrates  its  author's  history  and  expounds  the 
most  important  of  his  opinions.  Evidently  the  good 
man  had  got  into  the  habit  of  doing  all  his  deepest 
thinking  in  the  form  of  conversation  with  God. 

If  this  be  what  prayer  is,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
understand  how  the  Eternal  Son  should  have  prayed 
to  the  Eternal  Father.  Indeed,  it  is  easy  to  see 
that,  in  this  sense,  He  must  have  prayed  without 
ceasing. 

But  this  does  not  altogether  clear  up  the  mystery 
of  the  prayers  of  Jesus  ;  for  many  of  them  were 
undoubtedly  expressions  of  the  sense  of  want.  "  In 
the  days  of  His  flesh.  He  offered  up  prayers  and 
supplications  with  strong  crying  and  tears  unto  Him 
that  was  able  to  save  Him  from  death,  and  was 
heard  in  that  He  feared."  *  How  can  we  explain 
a  statement  like  this  .?  There  is  but  one  explanation 
of  it  ;  and  it  is  His  true  humanity.      It  is  only  by 


•  Heb.  V.  ^. 


CHRIST  AS  A   MAN  OF  PRA  YER.  129 

accepting  this  truth  in  the  fullest  sense  that  we  can 
understand  this  aspect  of  His  life,  Christ  was  not 
half  a  God  and  half  a  man,  but  perfectly  God  and 
perfectly  man.  There  are  things  about  Him,  and 
there  are  statements  of  His  own,  to  which  justice 
cannot  be  done  without  categorically  calling  Him 
God.  We  may  hesitate  to  utter  this  confession,  but 
the  facts,  unless  we  flinch  from  them,  will  compel  us 
to  make  it.  On  the  other  hand,  there  are  other 
things  about  Him  which  compel  us  in  the  fullest 
acceptation  of  the  term  to  call  Him  a  man  ;  and  we 
are  not  honouring  but  dishonouring  Him  if  we  do 
not  accept  this  truth  also  in  all  its  fulness  and  in  all 
its  consequences. 

He  prayed,  then,  because  He  was  a  man.  Humanity 
even  at  its  best  is  a  feeble  and  dependent  thing  ; 
it  can  never  be  self-sufficient.  Even  in  Him  it  was 
not  sufficient  for  itself,  but  dependent  on  God  from 
day  to  day  ;  and  He  expressed  His  sense  of  depend- 
ence by  praying.  Does  this  not  bring  Him  very 
near  us  ?  Verily  He  is  our  brother,  bone  of  our 
bone  and   flesh  of  our  flesh. 

But  there  is  another  lesson  in  it,  and  a  graver 
one.  Although  a  man,  Jesus  was  a  sinless  man. 
At  every  stage  of  development  His  manhood  was 
perfect.  He  had  no  sinful  past  to  weaken  the  force 
of  present  effort.     Yet  He  needed  prayer  and  resorted 

9 


I30  IMAGO  CHRIST/. 


to  it  continually.  What  a  commentary  on  our  need 
of  it !  If  He  needed  it,  being  what  He  was,  how 
must  we  need  it,  being  what  we  are. 

II. 

The  life  of  prayer  is  a  secret  life,  and  everyone 
who  really  loves  prayer  has  habits  of  it  known  only 
to  himself  Much  of  the  prayerfulness  of  Jesus 
must  have  lain  beyond  the  observation  of  even  His 
disciples,  and  therefore  is  altogether  unrecorded  in 
the  Gospels.  But  some  of  His  habits  have  been 
preserved,  and  they  are  extremely  interesting  and 
instructive. 

He  liked,  when  about  to  pray,  to  escape  from  the 
house  and  from  the  town  and  go  away  out  into  the 
natural  solitudes.  We  read,  "  He  went  out  and 
departed  unto  a  solitary  place,  and  there  prayed." 
Elsewhere  it  is  said,  "  He  withdrew  Himself  into 
the  wilderness,  and  prayed."  He  seems  to  have 
especially  loved  mountains  as  places  of  prayer. 
When  the  statement  is  anywhere  made  that  He  went 
up  to  a  mountain  to  pray,  commentators  try  to  find 
out,  by  examining  the  vicinity  in  which  He  was 
sojourning  at  the  time,  which  mountain  it  was  He 
ascended  for  this  purpose.  But  in  this,  I  think, 
they  are  on  the  wrong  track.  In  Palestine,  as  in 
many  parts  of  Scotland,  there  is  mountain  everywhere. 


CHRIST  AS  A   MAN  OF  PR  A  YER.  IJI 

A  mile  or  two  from  any  town  you  are  out  on  it. 
You  have  only  to  quit  the  houses,  cross  a  few 
acres  of  cultivated  ground,  and  your  feet  are  on 
the  turfy  pastures,  where  you  can  be  absolutely 
alone.  Jesus  had,  if  we  may  so  speak,  made  the 
discovery  that  He  could  obtain  this  solitude  any- 
where ;  and,  when  He  arrived  in  a  town.  His  first 
thought  was,  which  was  the  shortest  road  to  the 
mountain, — ^just  as  ordinary  travellers  inquire  where 
are  the  most  noted  sights  and  which  is  the  best 
hotel. 

There  is  a  solitude  of  time  as  well  as  a  solitude 
of  space.  What  mountains  and  wildernesses  are 
to  towns  and  cities,  the  night-time  and  the  early 
morning  are  to  the  day-time  and  the  early  night. 
Jesus  frequented  this  solitude  too  for  prayer.  We 
hear  of  Him  continuing  the  whole  night  in  prayer 
to  God  ;  or  it  is  said  that  He  "  rose  up  a  great 
while  before  day,  and  departed  into  a  solitary  place 
to  pray." 

It  may  partly  have  been  because,  on  account  of 
His  poverty,  He  could  not  easily  find  solitude  in  the 
houses  in  which  He  lodged  that  Jesus  cultivated  this 
habit,*   and    this    may  give   His  example  a   special 

*  Many  of  us  may  be  able  to  be  quite  alone  in  our  own  homes. 
Jesus  recognised  this  when  He  said :  "  Enter  thou,  when  tbou 
prayest,  into  thy  closet ;  and,  when  thou  hast  shut  thy  door,  pray 


Ija  IMAGO   CHRIST  I. 


interest  for  any  whose  circumstances  expose  them 
to  the  same  difficulty.  But  it  is  a  discovery  which 
might  immensely  enrich  us  all  if  we  were  to  realise 
how  easy  it  is  to  get  into  the  natural  solitudes. 
There  is  scarcely  a  town  out  of  which  you  cannot 
escape  in  a  very  few  minutes  and  find  yourself  quite 
alone — on  a  bit  of  shore,  or  on  a  mountain,  or  in 
a  pasture  or  a  wood.  The  town  or  city  may  be 
thundering  away  quite  near,  with  its  imprisoned 
multitudes  bound  on  the  treadmill  of  its  toils  or  its 
amusements  ;  but  you  are  out  of  it  and  alone  with 
God. 

There  is  more  than  mere  solitude  in  such  a 
situation  to  assist  prayer.  There  is  a  ministry  of 
nature  which  soothes  the  mind   and   disposes  it  to 

to  thy  Father  which  is  in  secret."  The  essential  thing  is  to  have 
the  world  shut  out  and  to  be  alone  with  God.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  we  shut  our  eyes  in  prayer :  it  is  that  our  attention,  being 
withdrawn  from  all  sights  and  sounds  without,  may  be  concen- 
trated on  the  vision  and  the  voices  within.  We  may  even  so 
familiarise  ourselves  with  the  inward  world  that  we  shall  acquire 
the  habit  of  transporting  ourselves  into  it  at  will  at  any  hour 
of  the  day  and  in  any  circumstances.  Amidst  the  whirr  of 
machinery,  in  the  bustle  of  the  street,  even  in  the  midst  of  con- 
versation, we  may  be  able  mentally  to  disappear  out  of  time  and 
stand  for  an  instant  in  eternity  face  to  face  with  God ;  and  few 
prayers  are  more  precious  than  the  momentary  ejaculations 
offered  in  the  course  of  daily  occupations.  He  who  has  acquired 
this  habit  has  a  strong  tower  into  which  he  can  retreat  in  every 
time  of  need. 


CHRIST  AS  A    MAN  OF  PRA  YER.  133 

devotion.  Never  did  I  feel  more  strongly  that 
in  this  habit  Jesus  had  laid  bare  one  of  the  great 
secrets  of  life  than  one  day  when  I  climbed  all 
alone  a  hill  above  Inveraray  and  lay  on  the  summit 
of  it,  musing  through  a  summer  forenoon.  On 
every  hand  there  stretched  a  solitary  world  of 
mountain  and  moorland  ;  the  loch  below  was  gleam- 
ing in  the  sun  like  a  shield  of  silver  ;  the  town  was 
visible  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  and  the  passengers 
could  be  seen  moving  in  the  streets,  but  no  sound 
of  its  bustle  reached  so  high.  The  great  sky  was 
over  all  ;  and  God  seemed  just  at  hand,  waiting  to 
hear  every  word.  It  was  in  spots  like  this  that 
Jesus  prayed. 

He  prayed,  however,  in  company  as  well  as  in 
solitude.  We  hear  of  Him  again  and  again  taking 
two  or  three  of  His  disciples  away  to  pray  with 
them,  and  sometimes  of  Him  praying  with  them  all. 
The  Twelve  were  a  kind  of  family  to  Him,  and  He 
assiduously  cultivated  family  worship.  He  spoke 
too  of  the  value  of  united  prayer.  "  I  say  unto  you, 
that  if  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as  touching 
anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for 
them  of  My  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  United 
prayer  acts  on  the  spirit  very  much  in  the  same  way 
as  conversation  acts  on  the  mind.  Many  a  man's 
intellect,  when  he  is  alone,  is  slow  in  its  movements 


134  IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


and  far  from  fertile  in  the  production  of  ideas. 
But,  when  it  meets  with  another  mind  and  clashes 
with  it  in  conversation,  it  is  transformed  :  it  be- 
comes agile  and  audacious,  it  burns  and  coruscates, 
and  brings  forth  ideas  out  of  its  resources  which 
are  a  surprise  even  to  itself.*  So,  where  two  or 
three  are  met  together,  the  prayer  of  one  strikes 
fire  from  the  soul  of  another  ;  and  the  latter  in 
his  turn  leads  the  way  to  nobler  heights  of  devo- 
tion. And  lo  !  as  their  joy  increases,  there  is  One 
in  their  midst  whom  they  all  recognise  and  cling 
to.  He  was  there  before,  but  it  is  only  when  their 
hearts  begin  to  burn  that  they  recognise  Him  ;  and 
in  a  •  true  sense  they  may  be  said  to  bring  Him 
there — "  Where  two  or  three  are  met  together  in 
My  name,  there  am  I  in  the  midst  of  them." 

III. 

The  occasions  which  call   for  prayer  are  innumer- 
able, and   it    would    be   vain    to   attempt  to  count 

*  "  Certain  it  is,  that  whosoever  hath  his  Mind  fraught  with 
many  Thoughts,  his  Wits  and  Understanding  do  clarify  and  break 
up,  in  the  communicating  and  discoursing  with  Another:  he 
tosseth  his  Thoughts  more  easily;  he  marshalleth  them  more 
orderly ;  he  seeth  how  they  look  when  they  are  turned  into 
Words ;  finally,  he  waxeth  wiser  than  himself,  and  that  more  by 
an  Hour's  Discourse  than  by  a  Day's  Meditation." — Bacons 
Essays,  xxvii :   Of  Friendship. 


CHRIST  AS  A   MAN  OF  PRA  YER.  135 

them.  Jesus  undoubtedly  had,  as  we  have  ourselves, 
new  reasons  for  praying  every  day ;  but  some  of 
the  occasions  on  which  He  prayed  are  specially 
instructive. 

I.  We  find  Him  engaged  in  special  prayer  just 
before  taking  very  important  steps  in  life.  One  of 
the  most  important  steps  He  ever  took  was  the 
selection  from  among  His  disciples  of  the  Twelve 
who  were  to  be  His  apostles.  It  was  an  act  on 
which  the  whole  future  of  Christianity  depended  ; 
and  what  was  He  doing  before  it  took  place  }  "  It 
came  to  pass  in  those  days  that  He  went  into  a 
mountain  to  pray,  and  continued  all  night  in  prayer 
to  God  ;  and,  when  it  was  day,  He  called  unto  Him 
His  disciples,  and  of  them  He  chose  twelve,  whom  He 
also  named  apostles."  It  was  after  this  night-long 
vigil  that  He  proceeded  to  the  choice  which  was  to 
be  so  momentous  for  Him  and  for  them  and  for 
all  the  world.  There  was  another  day  for  which, 
we  are  told.  He  made  similar  preparation.  It  was 
that  on  which  He  first  informed  His  disciples  that 
He  was  to  suffer  and  die. 

Thus  it  is  evident  that,  when  Jesus  had  a  day  of 
crisis  or  of  difficult  duty  before  Him,  He  gave  Him- 
self specially  to  prayer.  Would  it  not  simplify  our 
difficulties  if  we  attacked  them  in  the  same  way  .-• 
It  would   infinitely   increase  the  intellectual  insight 


136  IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


with  which  we  try  to  penetrate  a  problem  and  the 
power  of  the  hand  we  lay  upon  duty.  The  wheels 
of  existence  would  move  far  more  smoothly  and 
our  purposes  travel  more  surely  to  their  aims,  if 
every  morning  we  reviewed  beforehand  the  duties 
of  the  day  with   God,* 

2.  Jesus  appears  to  have  devoted  Himself  specially 
to  prayer  at  times  when  His  life  was  unusually  full 
of  work  and  excitement.  His  was  a  very  busy  life  ; 
there  were  nearly  always  "  many  coming  and  going  " 
about  Him.  Sometimes,  however,  there  was  such  a 
congestion  of  thronging  objects  that  He  had  scarcely 
time  to  eat.     But  even  then  He  found  time  to  pray. 


•  In  NicoU'sZ?/"^  of  Jesus  Christ,  pp.  178-80,  an  important  con- 
sideration is  added:  "Jesus  Christ  not  onty  prayed  before  great  and 
decisive  acts,  but  He  prayed  after  them.  .  .  .  This  teaches  us  much 
which  it  is  easy  but  fatal  to  miss.  When  we  have  done  some  great 
work  by  immense  expenditure  of  force,  we  are  tempted  to  say 
our  part  is  done, — we  cannot  accomplish  more.  Many  a  man 
desires  to  end  and  crown  his  public  life  amidst  the  shoutings  of 
applause  tor  some  victory  or  achievement.  He  would  retire  to 
boast  of  it,  and  live  all  the  rest  of  his  days  upon  that  proud 
memory.  Better  it  is  to  pray, — to  pray,  if  it  be  God's  will,  for 
new  strength,  for  new  if  humbler  efforts,  and,  if  that  is  denied, 
for  blessing  on  what  has  been  attempted  or  done,  Jesus  Christ 
did  not  boast.  He  did  not  give  up,  but  He  recruited  Himself  for 
new  service  by  continuing  in  prayer  to  God.  Another  tempta- 
tion is  to  pride.  We  are  lifted  above  the  simplicity  and  humility 
in  which  we  lived  before.  Our  hearts  swell,  and  we  are  tempted 
to  think  our  previous  life  mean  and  insignificant.     Never  are  we 


CHRIST  AS  A   MAN  OF  PRA  YER.  137 

Indeed,  these  appear  to  have  been  with  Him  seasons 
of  more  prolonged  prayer  than  usual.  Thus  we 
read  :  "  So  much  the  more  went  there  a  fame  abroad 
of  Him,  and  great  multitudes  came  together  to  hear 
and  to  be  healed  by  Him  of  their  infirmities  ;  but 
He  withdrew  Himself  into  the  wilderness  and 
prayed." 

Many  in  our  day  know  what  this  congestion  of 
occupations  is  :  they  are  swept  off  their  feet  with 
their  engagements  and  can  scarcely  find  time  to  eat. 
We  make  this  a  reason  for  not  praying  ;  Jesus 
made  it  a  reason  for  praying.      Is  there  any  doubt 


further  from  God  than  when  intoxicated  by  pride.  In  the  pride 
of  their  hearts  the  wicked  angels  fell,  and  we  may  fall  too  unless 
we  are  delivered  from  their  sin.  Nothing  will  avail  more  effect- 
ually to  allay  and  silence  our  pride  than  prayer.  In  communion 
with  our  Father  our  pride  is  chilled  and  destroyed.  A  kindred 
temptation  after  great  achievements  is  the  temptation  to  profound 
depression.  When  one  has  done  one's  utmost,  and  put  forth  the 
whole  force  of  life,  one  feels  completely  spent,  as  if  work  were 
over.  Men  who  have  preached  with  power  to  multitudes  of  people 
have  told  us  of  the  terrible  languor  which  succeeds  a  full  outburst 
of  the  heart.  They  have  told  us  how  they  felt  as  if  their  life  went 
from  them  in  that  supreme  effort,  and  could  never  be  regained. 
That  is  natural ;  and  we  may  learn  from  Jesus  Christ  how  it  is 
to  be  met.  Let  us  pray  that  by  prayer  and  service  we  may  be 
taught  to  feel  that  our  well-springs  are  in  God,  and  that  He  who 
strengthened  and  filled  us  for  that  achievement,  which  we  fear 
we  can  never  repeat,  can  gird  us,  if  He  will,  for  new  and  nobler 
work." 


138  IMAGO   CHRISri. 

fvhich  is  the  better  course  ?  Many  of  the  wisest 
have  in  this  respect  done  as  Jesus  did.  When  Luther 
had  a  specially  busy  and  exciting  day,  he  allowed 
himself  longer  time  than  usual  for  prayer  beforehand. 
A  wise  man  once  said  that  he  was  too  busy  to  be 
in  a  hurry ;  he  meant  that,  if  he  allowed  himself  to 
become  hurried,  he  could  not  do  all  that  he  had  to 
do.  There  is  nothing  like  prayer  for  producing  this 
calm  self-possession.  When  the  dust  of  business 
so  fills  your  room  that  it  threatens  to  choke  you, 
sprinkle  it  with  the  water  of  prayer,  and  then  you 
can  cleanse  it  out  with  comfort  and  expedition. 

3.  We  find  Jesus  engaging  in  special  prayer  when 
about  to  enter  into  temptation.  The  greatest  scene 
of  prayer  in  His  life  is  undoubtedly  Gethsemane. 
As  we  enter  that  garden  after  Him,  we  fear  almost 
to  look  on  the  scene — it  is  so  sacred  and  so  passes 
our  understanding  ;  and  we  tremble  as  we  listen  to 
the  prayers  rising  from  the  ground  where  He  lies. 
Never  were  prayers  heard  like  these.  We  cannot 
fathom  them ;  yet  much  may  be  learned  from  them. 
Let  one  lesson,  however,  suffice  in  the  meantime  : 
He  prayed  on  this  occasion  before  entering  into 
temptation ;  for  at  the  gate  of  the  garden,  after  the 
agony  was  over,  He  said,  "  This  is  your  hour  and 
the  power  of  darkness."  It  was  the  commencement 
of  His  final  conflict  with  the  powers  of  wickedness  in 


CHRIST  AS  A   MAN  OF  PR  A  YER.  139 

earth  and  hell.  But  He  had  equipped  Himself  for 
the  conflict  by  the  prayer  in  the  garden  beforehand, 
and  so  He  was  able  to  go  through  all  that  followed 
with  unruffled  dignity  and  with  perfect  success.  His 
strength  was  the  strength  of  prayer. 

What  an  illustration  of  contrast  was  presented  on 
that  occasion  by  the  weakness  of  the  disciples  !  For 
them  also  the  hour  and  the  power  of  darkness  began 
at  the  gate  of  Gethsemane  ;  but  it  was  an  hour  of 
disaster  and  ignominious  defeat.  Why }  Because 
they  were  sleeping  when  they  ought  to  have  been 
praying.  "  Watch  and  pray,"  He  had  said,  bending 
over  their  prostrate  forms,  "  lest  ye  enter  into  tempta- 
tion." But  they  heeded  not ;  and  so,  when  the  hour 
of  temptation  came,  they  fell.  Alas !  their  experi- 
ence has  often  been  ours  also.  The  only  armour  in 
which  temptation  can  be  successfully  met  is  prayer  ; 
and,  when  the  enemy  is  allowed  to  come  upon  us 
before  we  have  buckled  it  on,  we  have  not  a  chance 
of  standing. 

4.  If  any  scene  of  prayer  in  our  Lord's  life  may 
compete  in  interest  with  this  one,  it  is  the  last  of  all. 
Jesus  died  praying.  His  last  words  were  words  ot 
prayer.  The  habit  of  life  was  strong  in  death.  It 
may  seem  far  off ;  but  this  event  will  come  to  us 
also.  What  will  our  last  words  be }  Who  can  tell } 
But  would  it  not  be  beautiful  if  our  spirit  were  so 


140  IMAGO  CHRIST/. 


Steeped  in  the  habit  of  prayer  that  the  language  of 
prayer  came  naturally  to  us  at  the  last  ?  Many 
have  died  with  Christ's  own  last  words  on  their  lips. 
Who  would  not  covet  them  for  his  own  ?  "  Father, 
into  Thy  hands  I  commend  My  spirit." 

IV. 

If  anyone  were  to  go  through  the  life  of  Christ 
seeking  for  answers  to  His  prayers,  many  of  them, 
I  am  persuaded,  could  be  found.  But  I  shall  at 
present  refer  only  to  two  on  which  the  Word  itself 
lays  emphasis,  and  which  are  specially  instructive. 

The  Transfiguration  was  an  answer  to  prayer. 
This  is  how  it  is  introduced  in  one  of  the  Gospels  : 
"  And  it  came  to  pass  about  an  eight  days  after 
these  sayings,  He  took  Peter  and  John  and  James, 
and  went  up  into  a  mountain  to  pray.  And  as  He 
prayed,  the  fashion  of  His  countenance  was  altered, 
and  His  raiment  was  white  and  glistering.  And, 
behold,  there  talked  with  Him  two  men,  which  were 
Moses  and  Elias."  I  do  not  say  that  He  was  praying 
for  this  alteration  in  His  countenance  and  raiment, 
or  even  for  the  privilege  of  talking  with  these  wise 
and  sympathetic  spirits  about  the  work  which  He 
was  about  to  accomplish  at  Jerusalem.  But  yet, 
I  say,  all  this  was  in  answer  to  the  prayer  He 
was  offering  when  it  came.     There  are  some  who, 


CHRIST  AS  A   MAN  OF  PRAYER.  141 

disbelieving  in  the  direct  virtue  of  prayer  to  obtain 
from  God  what  it  asks,  yet  believe  in  what  they 
call  the  reflex  influence  of  prayer :  they  allow  it  does 
you  good  to  pray,  even  if  you  get  nothing  directly 
by  it,  and  even  if  there  is  no  God  to  hear  you. 
This,  taken  as  the  whole  theory  of  prayer,  is  a 
mockery,  as  the  simplest  mind  must  perceive.  But 
it  is  none  the  less  true  that  there  is  a  most  blessed 
reflex  influence  of  prayer.  Prayers  for  goodness  and 
purity  in  a  sense  answer  themselves  ;  for  you  cannot 
pray  for  these  things  without  in  some  measure  re- 
ceiving them  in  the  very  act.  To  lift  up  the  soul  to 
God  calms  and  ennobles  it.  It  was  this,  I  imagine, 
that  was  the  beginning  of  Christ's  transfiguration. 
The  absorption  and  delight  of  communion  with  His 
Father  overspread  His  very  face  with  beauty  and 
glory  ;  and  through  this  outlet  the  inner  glory  leapt 
forth.  In  some  degree  this  happens  to  all  who  pray, 
and  it  may  happen  in  a  high  degree  to  those  who 
pray  much.  Moses,  after  being  forty  days  in  the 
mount  with  God,  shone  with  the  same  kind  of  light 
as  the  disciples  saw  in  their  Master  on  the  Holy 
Mount ;  and  there  is  a  spiritual  beauty  bestowed  in 
some  degree  on  all  God's  saints  who  pray  much 
which  is  of  the  same  nature  and  is  the  most  precious 
of  all  answers  to  prayer.  Character  flows  from 
the  well-spring  of  prayer. 


14a  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


The  other  answer  to  prayer  given  to  Jesus  to 
which  I  desire  to  call  attention  took  place  at  His 
baptism.  Here  is  St.  Luke's  account  of  it :  "  Now 
when  all  the  people  were  baptized,  it  came  to  pass, 
that  Jesus  also  being  baptized,  and  praying,  \he/ 
heaven  was  opened,  and  the  Holy  Ghost  descended/ 
like  a  dove  upon  Him."  It  was  when  He  was 
praying  that  the  Spirit  was  sent  down  upon  Him, 
and  in  all  probability  it  was  this  which  at  the 
moment  He  was  praying  for.  He  had  just  left  His 
home  in  Nazareth  to  begin  His  public  work  ;  and 
He  was  in  immediate  need  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
equip  Him  for  His  task.  It  is  a  forgotten  truth 
that  Jesus  was  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  ;  but  it 
is  one  most  clearly  revealed  in  the  Gospels.  The 
human  nature  of  Jesus  was  from  first  to  last  depen- 
dent on  the  Holy  Ghost,  being  thereby  made  a  fit 
organ  for  the  divine  ;  and  it  was  in  the  strength 
of  this  inspiration  that  all  His  work,  as  preacher, 
miracle-worker  and  atoner,  was  done.*     And  if  in 

*  "  The  Holy  Spirit,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  anointed  Him  with 
all  those  extraordinary  poivers  and  gift's  which  were  necessary 
for  the  exercise  and  discharging  of  His  office  on  the  earth.  Isa. 
Ixi.  I :  '  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  Me ;  because  the 
Lord  hath  anointed  Me  to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the  meek : 
He  hath  sent  Me  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted,  to  proclaim 
liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of  the  prison  to  them 
that  are  bound.'     It  is  the  prophetical  office  of  Christ,  and  His 


CHRIST  AS  A   MAN  OF  PRA  YER.  143 

any  measure  our  life  is  to  be  an  imitation  of  His — 
if  we  are  to  help  in  carrying  on  His  work  in  the 
world  or  in  filling  up  what  is  lacking  in  His 
sufferings — we  must  be  dependent  on  the  same 
influence.     But    how  are  we    to    get  it  ?     He    has 

discharge  thereof  in  His  ministry  on  the  earth,  which  is  intended. 
And  He  apphes  these  words  unto  Himself  with  respect  unto  His 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  (Luke  iv.  18,  19) ;  for  this  v>^as  that  office 
which  He  principally  attended  unto  here  in  the  world,  as  that 
whereby  He  instructed  men  in  the  nature  and  use  of  His  other 
offices.  .  .  .  Hereunto  was  He  fitted  by  this  unction  of  the  Spirit. 
And  here,  also,  is  a  distinction  between  the  '  Spirit  that  was 
upon  Him,'  and  His  being  '  anointed  to  preach,'  which  contains 
the  communication  of  the  gifts  of  that  Spirit  unto  Him.  .  .  .  And 
this  collation  of  extraordinary  gifts  for  the  discharge  of  His 
prophetical  office  was  at  His  baptism  (Matt.  iii.  17).  They  were 
not  bestowed  on  the  Head  of  the  Church,  nor  are  any  gifts  of  the 
same  nature  in  general  bestowed  on  any  of  His  members,  but 
for  use,  exercise,  and  improvement.  And  that  they  were  then 
collated  appears ;  for, — 

"  I.  Then  did  He  receive  the  visible  pledge  which  confirmed 
Him  in,  and  testified  unto  others  His  calling  of  God  to,  the 
exercise  of  His  office;  for  then  'the  Spirit  of  God  descended 
like  a  dove,  and  lighted  upon  Him  :  and,  lo,  a  voice  came  from 
heaven,  saying.  This  is  My  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased '  (Matt.  iii.  16,  17).  Hereby  was  He  'sealed  of  God  the 
Father '  (Johnvi.  27)  in  that  visible  pledge  of  His  vocation,  setting 
the  great  seal  of  heaven  to  His  commission.  And  this  also  was 
to  be  a  testimony  unto  others,  that  they  might  own  Him  in  His 
office,  now  He  had  undertaken  to  discharge  it  (chap.  i.  33). 

"  2.  He  now  entered  on  His  public  ministry,  and  wholly  gave 
Himself  up  unto  His  work  ;  for  before  He  did  only  occasionally 
manifest  the  presence  of  God  with  Him,  somewhat  to  prepare 


144  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


told  US  Himself  :  "  If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how 
to  give  good  gifts  unto  your  children,  how  much 
more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him."  Power,  like 
character,  comes  from   the  fountain   of  prayer, 

the  minds  of  men  to  attend  unto  His  ministry,  as  when  He  filled 
them  with  astonishment  at  His  discourses  with  the  doctors  in 
the  Temple  (Luke  ii.  46,  47).  And  although  it  is  probable  that  He 
might  be  acted  by  the  Spirit  in  and  unto  many  such  extraordinary 
actions  during  His  course  of  a  private  life,  yet  the  fulness  of  gifts 
for  His  work  He  received  not  until  the  time  of  His  baptism,  and 
therefore  before  that  He  gave  not  Himself  up  wholly  unto  His 
public  ministry. 

"  3.  Immediately  hereon  it  is  said  that  He  was  'full  of  the 
Holy  GhosV  (Luke  iv.  i).  Before,  He  was  said  to  'wax  strong 
in  spirit,'  Tr'krjpovjxfvos  (To^ln^,  chap.  ii.  40,  '  continually  filling '; 
but  now  He  is  TiKr]prjs  Hvevnaros  'Ayiov  ('  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost '). 
He  was  actually  possessed  of  and  furnished  with  all  that  fulness 
of  spiritual  gifts  which  were  any  way  needful  for  Him  or  useful 
unto  Him,  or  which  human  nature  is  capable  of  receiving." 

Owen,  On  the  Holy  Spirit. 


VIII. 
CHRIST  AS  A  STUDENT   OF   SCRIPTURE 


lO 


Matt.  iv.  4,  7,  la  Luke  iv.  16-27 

V.  17,  48.  „    viii.  21. 

VI.  29.  „    xvi.  29,  30. 
vii.  12.  ,,    xxiii.  46. 
viii.  4,  II.  >•    xxiv.  37. 
ix.  13. 

X.  15- 

xi.  21,  24. 

xii.  3-7,  39-42. 
xiii.  14,  15. 

XV.  7-9.  John  V.  39,  45,  46. 

xix.  8,  18,  19.  „    vi.  32,  45,  49. 

xxi.  16,  42.  „    vii.  19,  22. 

xxii.  29-32,  35-40,  43-45,  „    viii.  17,  37. 

xxiv.  37-39.  „    X.  34,  35. 

xxvi.  30,  31,  53,  54  .,    xiii.  18. 

xxvii.  46.  ,,    xvii.  12,  14,  17 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
CHRIST  AS  A  STUDENT  OF  SCRIPTURE. 

I. 

TT  is  probable  that  Jesus  knew  three  languages. 
-'■  The  language  of  His  country  was  Aramaic  ; 

and  some  fragments  of  it,  as  they  fell  from  His 
lips,  have  been  preserved  to  us  in  the  Gospels, 
such  as  Talitha,  aivii,  the  words  with  which  He 
raised  the  daughter  of  Jairus.  But  it  is  not 
likely  that  He  read  the  Scriptures  in  this  His 
native  tongue.  Sometimes,  indeed,  the  quotations 
of  the  Old  Testament  in  the  New  do  not  tally 
exactly  with  any  form  of  the  Old  Testament  now 
in  our  hands,  and  the  conjecture  has  been 
hazarded  that  in  such  cases  the  quotations  are 
taken  from  an  Aramaic  version  then  in  existence; 
but  this   is  no  more  than  conjecture. 

Another  language  He  spoke  was  Greek.  In 
Galilee,  where  He  was  brought  up,  there  were  so 
many  Greek  settlers  that  it  was  called  "  Galilee 
of  the  Gentiles  ;  "   and  Greek  was  the  language  of 


148  IMAGO  CHRIS TI. 


commerce  and  of  the  more  cosmopolitan  kind 
of  social  intercourse.  A  boy  brought  up  in  Galilee 
in  those  d^ys  would  have  the  same  chance  of 
learning  Greek  as  in  our  day  a  boy  brought  up 
in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  has  of  learning 
English.  Now  in  Greek  there  existed  in  Christ's 
time  a  version  of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures. 
We  still  possess  it,  under  the  name  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint,  or  Seventy,  the  supposed  number  of  the 
translators  who  executed  it  in  Egypt  between  two 
and  three  hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era. 
It  was  extensively  circulated  in  Palestine.  The 
New  Testament  writers  very  frequently  quote  from 
it,  and  there  is  little  doubt  that  our  Lord  read  it. 
The  third  language  which  He  probably  knew 
was  Hebrew.  This  can  only  be  stated  as  a 
probability  ;  for,  though  Hebrew  was  the  language 
of  the  Jews,  it  had  ceased  before  Christ's  time  to 
be  the  spoken  language  of  Palestine.  Languages 
sometimes  decay  even  in  the  countries  to  which 
they  are  native,  and  become  so  mixed  with 
foreign  elements  as  to  lose  their  identity.  A 
modern  example  is  seen  in  Italy,  where  Latin  is 
now  a  dead  language,  having  been  transmuted  by 
slow  degrees  in  the  course  of  centuries  into  Italian. 
Though  Italian  bears  considerable  resemblance  to 
the   ancient   tongue,    the    boys   ef    Italy   of    to-day 


CHRIST  AS  A   STUDENT  OF  SCRIPTURE.         149 

have  to  learn  Latin  just  as  our  own  boys  do. 
The  same  thing  had  taken  place  in  Palestine. 
The  Hebrew  language,  in  which  the  Old  Testa- 
ment was  written,  had  degenerated  into  Aramaic  ; 
and  Jews  who  desired  to  read  the  Scriptures  in 
the  original  tongue  had  to  learn  the  dead  language. 
There  is  reason  to  believe  that  Jesus  acquired 
it.  In  some  of  His  quotations  from  the  Old 
Testament,  scholars  have  observed,  He  purposely 
diverges  from  the  Greek  and  reverts  to  the  exact 
terms  of  the  original.  It  will  be  remembered 
also  that  in  the  synagogue  of  Nazareth  He  was 
asked  to  read  the  Scriptures.  Now  it  is  probable 
that  in  the  synagogue-roll  the  writing  was  in 
Hebrew,  the  reader  having  first  to  read  it  in  that 
language  and  then  to  translate  it  into  the  language 
of  the  people.*  If  this  be  so,  it  is  surely  interest- 
ing to  think  of  Jesus  learning  the  dead  language 
in  order  to  read  the  Word  of  God  in  the  tongue 
in  which  it  was  written.  Remember,  His  condition 
in  life  was  only  that  of  a  mechanic  ;  and  it  may 
have  been  in  the  brief  intervals  of  toil  that  He 
mastered    the  strange   letters   and   forms   that  were 

•  "Vers  fiir  Vers,  abwechselnd  mit  dem  dazu  bestellten 
Uebersetzer,  las  der  Aufgerufene  den  Text  und  der  Uebersetzer 
sprach  das  Targum,  d.  h.  die  aramaische  Paraphrase." — 
Hausrath,   Nevtestameniliche  Zeitgeschichte. 


150  IMAGO  CHRIST!. 


to  bring  Him  face  to  face  with  the  Psalms  as 
David  wiote  them  and  with  the  prophecies  as 
they  flowed  from  the  pen  of  Isaiah  or  Jeremiah. 
In  our  own  country  the  same  sacred  ambition  is 
not  unknown.  At  all  events,  a  generation  ago 
there  were  working  men  who  learned  Greek  with 
the  grammar  stuck  on  the  loom  in  front  of 
them,  that  they  might  read  the  New  Testament 
in  the  language  in  which  it  was  written  ;  and  I 
have  spoken  with  the  members  of  a  group  of 
business  men  in  Edinburgh  who  met  every  Saturday 
to  read  the  Greek  Testament.  Certainly  there  is 
a  flavour  about  the  Bible,  when  read  in  the 
language  it  was  written  in,  which  it  loses  more 
or  less  in  every  translation  ;  and  it  is  perhaps 
surprising  that  in  our  day,  when  the  love  of  the 
Bible  is  so  common  and  the  means  of  learning  are 
so  accessible,  the  ambition  to  read  it  thus  is  not 
more  widely  spread. 

It  is  pathetic  to  think  that  Jesus  never  possessed 
a  Bible  of  His  own  ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt  of 
the  fact.  The  expense  of  such  a  possession  in  those 
days  was  utterly  beyond  the  means  of  one  in  His 
condition  ;  and  besides,  the  bulkiness  of  the  rolls 
on  which  it  was  written  would  have  prevented  it 
from  being  portable,  even  if  He  could  have  possessed 
it.     Possibly  in   His  home  there  may  have  been  a 


CHRIST  AS  A  STUDENT   OF  SCRIPTURE.         151 

few  of  the  precious  rolls,  containing  the  Psalms 
or  other  favourite  portions  of  Holy  Writ ;  but  it 
must  have  been  by  frequenting  the  synagogue  and 
obtaining  access  to  the  books  lying  there,  perhaps 
through  ingratiating  Himself  with  their  keeper,  as 
an  enthusiastic  musician  may  do  with  the  organist 
of  a  church  in  order  to  be  permitted  to  use  the 
instrument,  that  He  was  able  to  quench  His 
thirst  for  sacred  knowledge.  We  can  procure  the 
Holy  Book  for  next  to  nothing,  and  every  child 
possesses  a  copy.  May  its  cheapness  and  universal 
currency  never  make  it  in  our  eyes  a  common 
thing  ! 

Of  course  it  was  only  the  Old  Testament  Jesus 
had  to  read.  It  may  be  worth  while  to  recall  this 
as  a  reminder  of  how  much  more  reason  we  have 
to  love  and  prize  our  larger  Bible.  When  I  read 
in  the  Psalms  such  outbursts  of  affection  for  the 
Word  of  God  as  these  :  "  Oh  how  I  love  Thy  law  : 
it  is  my  study  all  the  day  ;  "  "  How  sweet  are  Thy 
words  to  my  taste  ;  yea,  sweeter  than  honey  to  my 
mouth  ;  "  "  More  to  be  desired  are  they  than  gold, 
yea,  than  much  fine  gold  ;  sweeter  also  than  honey 
and  the  honey-comb," — I  say,  when  I  read  such 
outbursts  of  holy  feeling,  and  recollect  that  they 
came  from  the  lips  of  men  who  possessed  only  the 
Old    Testament,   perhaps  only  a  fragment  of   it — 


15a  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


men  in  whose  Bible  there  were  no  Gospels,  or 
Epistles  of  Paul,  or  Apocalypse,  who  had  never  read 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  or  the  Prodigal  Son,  the 
seventeenth  of  John  or  the  eighth  of  Romans,  the 
thirteenth  of  First  Corinthians  or  the  eleventh  of 
Hebrews, — I  ask  what  my  feelings  are  towards  the 
much  larger  Bible  I  possess,  and  I  say  to  myself 
that  surely  in  modern  times  the  heart  of  man  has 
become  ossified,  and  the  fountains  of  gratitude  have 
dried  up,  and  the  fires  of  admiration  and  enthusiasm 
have  been  put  out,  so  tame,  in  comparison,  is  our 
affection  for  the  far  more  perfect  Book.* 

•  No  nobler  tribute  has  been  ever  paid  to  the  Divine  Word 
than  Edward  Irving's  Orations  for  the  Oracles  of  God.  We  quote 
a  few  sentences  from  the  first  of  them :  "  There  is  no  express 
stirring  up  of  faculties  to  meditate  her  high  and  heavenly  strains 
— nor  formal  sequestration  of  the  mind  from  all  other  concerns 
on  purpose  for  her  special  entertainment — nor  pause  of  solemn 
seeking  and  solemn  waiting  for  a  spiritual  frame,  before  entering 
and  listening  to  the  voice  of  the  Almighty's  wisdom.  Who  feels 
the  sublime  dignity  there  is  in  a  saying  fresh  descended  from  the 
porch  of  heaven?  Who  feels  the  awful  weight  there  is  in  the 
least  iota  that  hath  dropped  from  the  lips  of  God  ?  Who  feels 
the  thriUing  fear  or  trembling  hope  there  is  in  words  whereon 
the  eternal  destinies  of  himself  do  hang  ?  Who  feels  the  tide  of 
gratitude  swelling  within  his  breast,  for  redemption  and  salvation, 
instead  of  flat  despair  and  everlasting  retribution  ?  Or  who,  in 
perusing  the  Word  of  God,  is  captivated  through  all  his  faculties, 
transported  tlirough  all  his  emotions,  and  through  all  his  energies 
of  action  wound  up  ?  .  .  . 

*'  Oh  1  if  books  had  but  tongues  to  speak  their  wrongs,  then 


CHRIST  AS  A   STUDENT  Of  SCRIPTURE.         I53 

II. 

There  is  the  most  indubitable  evidence  that  Jesus 
was  an  assiduous  student  of  the  Word  of  God. 
This  is  furnished,  not  by  repeated  statements  to 
this  effect,  but  by  proofs  far  more  impressive.  His 
recorded  sayings  abound  with  quotations  from  it. 
These  are  sometimes  express  references  to  the  book 

might  this  book  well  exclaim — Hear,  O  heavens !  and  give  ear, 

0  earth  !  I  came  from  the  love  and  embrace  of  God,  and  mute 
nature,  to  whom  I  brought  no  boon,  did  me  rightful  homage.  To 
man  I  came,  and  my  words  were  to  the  children  of  men.  I  dis- 
closed to  you  the  mysteries  of  the  hereafter,  and  the  secrets  of  the 
throne  of  God.  I  set  open  to  you  the  gates  of  salvation,  and  the 
way  of  eternal  life,  heretofore  unknown.     Nothing  in  heaven  did 

1  withhold  from  your  hope  and  ambition ;  and  upon  your  earthly 
lot  I  poured  the  full  horn  of  divine  providence  and  consolation. 
But  ye  requited  me  with  no  welcome,  ye  held  no  festivity  on  my 
arrival :  ye  sequester  me  from  happiness  and  heroism,  closeting 
me  with  sickness  and  infirmity  ;  ye  make  not  of  me,  nor  use  me 
for  your  guide  to  wisdom  and  prudence,  but  press  me  into  your 
list  of  duties,  and  withdraw  me  to  a  mere  corner  of  your  time ; 
and  most  of  ye  set  me  at  nought,  and  utterly  disregard  me.  I 
came,  the  fulness  of  the  knowledge  of  God:  angels  delighted 
in  my  company,  and  desired  to  dive  into  my  secrets.  But  ye, 
mortals,  place  masters  over  me,  subjecting  me  to  the  discipline 
and  dogmatism  of  men,  and  tutoring  me  in  your  schools  of  learn- 
ing. I  came  not  to  be  silent  in  your  dwellings,  but  to  speak 
welfare  to  you  and  to  your  children.  I  came  to  rule,  and  my 
throne  to  set  up  in  the  hearts  of  men.  Mine  ancient  residence 
was  the  bosom  of  God ;  no  residence  will  I  have  but  the  soul 
of  an  immortal ;  and  if  you  had  entertained  me,  I  should  have 
possessed  you  of  the  peace  which  I  had  with  God." 


154 


IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


and  the  verse  ;  but  oftener  they  are  allusions  to  Old 
Testament  events  and  personages  or  unexpressed 
quotations  so  woven  into  the  warp  and  woof  of  His 
own  statements  as  to  show  that  the  Old  Testament 
drenched  His  mind  through  and  through,  supplied 
the  scenery  in  which  His  imagination  habitually 
worked,  and  moulded  the  very  language  in  which 
He  thought  and  spoke. 

If  His  quotations  are  examined,  it  will  be  found 
that  they  are  derived  from  every  part  of  the  book, 
showing  His  acquaintance  not  only  with  its  promi- 
nent features,  but  with  its  obscurest  corners  ;  so  that 
we  ourselves  need  not  travel  anywhere  among  the 
Old  Testament  writings  without  the  assurance  that 
His  blessed  feet  have  been  there  before  us.  It  is, 
however,  peculiarly  enjoyable  in  the  reading  of 
Scripture  to  be  able  to  halt  at  a  text  and  know  for 
certain,  from  His  quoting  it,  that  out  of  this  very 
vessel,  which  we  are  raising  to  our  lips,  Jesus  drank 
the  living  water.  There  are  even  texts  which  we 
may  without  irreverence  call  His  favourites,  because 
He  quoted  them  again  and  again.  And  there  are 
books  of  Scripture  which  seem  to  have  been  specially 
dear  to  Him,  Deuteronomy,  the  Psalms,  and  Isaiah 
being  the  chief. 

Not  long  ago  it  fell  to  my  lot  to  look  over  the 
papers  of  a  deceased  friend.      As  all  who  have  had 


CHRIST  AS  A   STUDENT  OF  SCRIPTURE.         155 

the  same  duty  to  perform  must  know,  it  is  a  pathetic 
task.  There  is  a  haunting  sense  of  desecration  in 
rifling  the  secrets  kept  hidden  during  Hfe  and  learn- 
ing exactly  what  the  man  was  beneath  the  surface. 
My  friend  had  been  a  man  of  the  world,  exposed 
to  many  of  the  temptations  of  those  who  have  to 
do  its  business  and  mingle  with  its  company  ;  but 
he  had  sustained  the  character  of  a  religious  man. 
I  had  now  the  means  of  finding  out  whether  this 
was  something  put  on  from  the  outside  or  growing 
from  within.  It  was  with  deep  awe  that,  as  I 
advanced,  I  came  upon  evidence  after  evidence  of 
an  inner  life  with  even  deeper  and  fresher  roots  than 
I  had  ventured  to  hope  for.  When  I  opened  his 
Bible  especially,  it  told  an  unmistakable  story ;  for 
the  marks  of  long  and  diligent  use  were  visible  on 
every  page — the  leaves  well  worn,  the  choice  texts 
underlined,  short  breathings  of  the  heart  noted  on 
the  margins.  In  some  parts  the  marks  of  use  were 
peculiarly  frequent.  This  was  the  case  especially 
with  Psalms,  Isaiah  and  Hosea  in  the  Old  Testa- 
ment and  the  writings  of  St.  John  in  the  New.  I 
now  knew  the  reality  of  the  life  that  was  ended, 
and  whence  its  virtues  had  sprung. 

Thus  the  very  aspect  of  a  man's  Bible  may  be  a 
record  of  his  most  secret  habits  and  remain  to  those 
who  come  after  him  a  monument  of  his  religion  or 


IS6  IMAGO  CHRlSTi. 


irreligion.  To  the  living  man  himself  there  is 
perhaps  no  better  test  of  his  own  religious  condition 
than  a  glance  through  its  pages  ;  for  by  the  tokens  of 
use  or  neglect  he  may  learn  whether  or  not  he  loves 
it.  I  copied  from  the  flyleaf  of  my  friend's  Bible  a 
few  words  which  perhaps  explain  the  source  of  true 
love  to  the  Word  :  "  Oh,  to  come  nearer  to  Christ, 
nearer  to  God,  nearer  to  holiness !  Every  day  to 
live  more  completely  in  Him,  by  Him,  for  and  with' 
Him.  There  is  a  Christ ;  shall  I  be  Christless  ? 
A  cleansing  ;  shall  I  remain  foul  ?  A  Father's  love  ; 
shall  I  be  an  alien  ?  A  heaven  ;  shall  I  be  cast 
out  ?  " 

III. 

There  are  different  methods  of  studying  the 
Scriptures  with  profit.  On  these  we  have  no 
express  teaching  from  the  lips  of  Christ  ;  but  from 
the  records  of  His  conduct  we  can  see  that  He 
practised  them. 

According  to  the  method  by  which  it  is  studied, 
God's  Word  serves  different  uses  in  spiritual  experi- 
ence ;  one  method  being  serviceable  for  one  kind 
of  use,  and  another  for  another.  Jesus  displayed 
perfect  proficiency  in  all  the  ways  of  using  it ;  and 
from  this  we  are  able  to  infer  how  He  studied  it. 


CHRIST  AS  A  STUDENT  OF  SCRIPTURE,         157 

There  are  especially  three  prominent  uses  to 
which  we  find  Him  putting  the  Bible,  and  these 
are  very  important  for  our  imitation. 

I.  For  Defence. 

The  very  first  use  we  find  Him  making  of  the 
Word  is  as  a  defence  against  temptation.  When 
the  Wicked  One  came  to  Him  and  tempted  Him  in 
the  wilderness,  He  answered  every  suggestion  with, 
"  It  is  written.'  The  Word  was  in  His  hands  the 
sword  of  the  Spirit,  and  He  turned  with  its  edge 
the   onsets  of  the    enemy. 

In  like  manner  He  defended  Himself  with  it 
against  the  assaults  of  wicked  men.  When  they  lay 
in  wait  for  Him  and  tried  to  entangle  Him  in  His 
talk.  He  foiled  them  with  the  Word  of  God.  Espe- 
cially on  that  great  day  of  controversy  immediately 
before  His  end,*  when  all  His  enemies  set  upon  Him 
and  the  champions  of  the  different  parties  did  their 
utmost  to  confuse  and  confute  Him,  He  repelled 
their  attacks  one  after  another  with  answers  drawn 
from  the  Scriptures  ;  and  at  last  silenced  them  and 
put  them  to  shame  in  the  eyes  of  the  people  by 
showing  their  ignorance  of  the  Scriptures  of  which 
they  were  the  chosen  interpreters. 

*  Matt,  xxii. 


IS8  IMAGO  CHRIST!. 


There  was  yet  another  enemy  He  met  with  the 
same  weapon.  It  was  the  last  enemy.  When  the 
terrors  of  death  were  closing  round  Him,  like  a  dark 
multitude  pressing  in  upon  a  solitary  man,  He  had 
recourse  to  His  old  and  tried  weapon.  Two  at  least, 
if  not  more,  of  His  seven  last  words  from  the  cross 
were  verses  out  of  His  favourite  book  of  Psalms. 
One  of  them  was  His  very  last  word,  and  with  it  He 
plucked  His  soul  out  of  the  jaws  of  death  :  "  Father, 
into  Thy  hands  I  commend  My  spirit." 

For  this  use  of  Scripture  the  practice  of  com- 
mitting it  to  memory  is  essential.  In  every  case  I 
have  mentioned  Jesus  was  able  to  recur  to  the  con- 
tents of  a  memory  stored  with  texts  of  Scripture  and 
find  at  once  the  necessary  weapon  for  the  occasion. 
Often,  when  temptation  comes,  there  is  no  time  to 
search  for  the  word  to  meet  it  ;  everything  depends 
on  being  already  armed,  with  sword  in  hand.  This 
shows  how  necessary  it  is  to  fill  the  memory,  while 
it  is  plastic,  with  stores  of  texts  ;  we  do  not  know 
what  use  we  may  get  of  them  in  future  days  of 
trial  and  weakness.  In  daily  reading,  when  we 
have  gone  through  a  chapter,  it  is  an  excellent  plan 
to  select  a  single  verse  and  commit  it  to  memory. 
Not  only  does  this  sharpen  the  attention  on  the 
whole  chapter,  but  it  lays  up  ammunition  for  future 
battles. 


CHRIST  AS  A   STUDENT  OF  SCRIPTURE.         159 

2.  For  Inspiration. 

It  is  easy  from  Christ's  Old  Testament  references 
to  see  that  He  dwelt  much  among  the  great  spirits 
of  the  past  whose  lives  the  Old  Testament  records. 
His  earthly  environment  was  unsympathetic  in  the 
extreme.  In  His  own  home  He  was  not  believed 
in.  In  His  own  country  there  was  living  an  evil 
generation,  as  He  often  said,  irresponsive  to  every 
motive  that  most  profoundly  affected  Him.  His 
own  followers  were,  in  mind  and  spirit,  but  children, 
whom  He  was  only  training  to  comprehend  His 
ideas.  His  overcharged  heart  longed  for  com- 
panionship, and  He  had  to  seek  it  among  the  great 
figures  of  the  past.  In  the  silent  walks  and  groves 
of  Scripture  He  met  with  Abraham  and  Moses, 
with  David  and  Elijah  and  Isaiah,  and  many  more 
of  kindred  spirit.  These  men  had  lived  for  aims 
similar  to  His  own.  They  had  suffered  for  them 
as  He  was  suffering  ;  He  could  borrow  the  very 
words  of  Isaiah  about  his  contemporaries  to  de- 
scribe His  own.  If  Jerusalem  was  persecuting  Him, 
she  had  always  been  the  city  that  slew  the  prophets. 
So  near  did  He  get  in  His  reading  of  the  Word  to 
these  departed  spirits,  so  alive  in  His  meditations 
did  they  become,  that  at  last  two  of  them,  the 
greatest  of  all,  Moses  and  Elias,  were  actually 
drawn  back  across   the  boundary  of   visibility   and 


I6r  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


appeared  conversing  with  Him  in  the  Holy  Mount. 
But  this  conversation  was  only  the  culmination  of 
hundreds  He  had  held  before  with  them  and  with 
the  other  prophets  in  the  pages  of  Holy  Writ. 

To  enjoy  this  use  of  the  Bible  a  different  kind 
of  study  of  it  is  necessary  from  that  which  makes 
it  useful  for  defence.  For  defence  the  verbal 
memory  of  single  texts  is  what  is  necessary  ;  for 
inspiration  our  study  must  take  a  wider  sweep.  It 
must  embrace  the  life  of  a  man  from  beginning  to 
end  ;  it  must  understand  the  time  which  produced 
him  and  the  circumstances  against  which  he  had 
to  react.  We  must  read  about  the  man  till  we 
see  the  world  of  his  day,  and  him  moving  in  it ; 
we  must  learn  to  catch  his  tone  and  accent.  Then 
he  is  ours  ;  he  will  walk  with  us  ;  he  will  speak  to 
us  ;  he  will  be  our  companion  and  friend.  This  is 
the  privilege  of  the  Christian  who  knows  his  Bible  : 
whatever  be  his  surroundings  in  the  actual  world, 
he  can  transport  himself  at  will  into  the  best  of 
company,  where  the  brow  of  every  one  is  crowned 
with  nobleness,  every  eye  beams  encouragement,, 
and  the  air  is  redolent  of  faith  and  hope  and 
love. 

3.  For  Guidance. 

Jesus  used  His  Bible  as  the  chart  of  His  own 
life.      Learned    men,  ay,   and    reverent    men,   have 


CHRIST  AS  A  STUDENT  OF  SCRIPTURE.         i6i 

discussed  the  question  at  what  age  He  became  fully 
aware  that  He  was  the  Messiah,  and  by  what 
degrees  He  became  possessed  of  a  distinct  know- 
ledge of  the  path  which  He  was  to  pursue:  at 
what  point,  for  example.  He  learned  that  He  was 
to  be  not  a  victorious  but  a  suffering  Saviour  ;  and 
they  have  supposed  that  He  came  to  the  knowledge 
of  these  things  by  the  study  of  the  prophecies  of 
the  Old  Testament  about  Himself.  I  have  never 
felt  myself  fit  for  such  speculations  ;  these  things 
seem  to  me  to  be  hidden  behind  the  curtain  of 
the  mystery  of  His  person  as  God  and  man  in  one. 
But  it  is  easy  in  His  words  to  see  that  He  did 
follow  His  own  course  with  intense  interest  in  Old 
Testament  prophecy,  as  in  a  chart.  Again  and 
again  it  is  said  He  did  this  and  that,  that  such 
and  such  a  prophecy  might  be  fulfilled.  To  the 
deputation  sent  from  the  Baptist,  and  to  others,  He 
pointed  out  how  literally  His  way  of  life  corre- 
sponded with  the  portrait  of  the  Messiah  sketched 
by  Isaiah  and  other  prophets.  His  intercourse 
with  His  disciples  after  His  resurrection  seems  to 
have  been  mainly  devoted  to  showing  them  from 
Moses  and  all  the  prophets  that  His  life,  sufferings 
and  death  were  the  exact  fulfilment  of  all  that  had 
been  foretold. 

To    use    Scripture    thus     requires    a    method    of 

II 


1 62  IMAGO  CHRIST/. 


Study  far  more  advanced  than  is  necessary  for  the 
uses  of  defence  or  inspiration  already  explained  :  it 
requires  the  power  of  taking  a  bird's-eye  view  of 
Scripture  as  a  vi^hole,  of  discerning  the  main  currents 
flowing  through  it  from  first  to  last,  and  especially 
of  tracing  clearly  the  great  central  current  to  which 
all  the  others  tend  and  into  which  they  finally 
empty  themselves. 

Evidently  this  was  Christ's  way  of  studying  the 
Bible  :  He  could  lift  it  up  and  wield  it  as  a  whole. 
One  sees  this  even  in  His  mode  of  using  single  texts. 
He  rarely  quotes  a  text  without  revealing  in  it  some 
hidden  meaning  which  no  one  had  suspected  before, 
but  which  shines  clearly  to  all  eyes  as  soon  as  it  has 
been  pointed  out*  Some  rare  men  in  all  ages  have 
had  this  power.     You  occasionally  hear  a  preacher 

*  "  Lord,  this  morning  I  read  a  chapter  in  the  Bible,  and  therein 
observed  a  memorable  passage,  whereof  I  never  took  notice 
before.  Why  now,  and  no  sooner,  did  I  see  it?  Formerly  my 
eyes  were  as  open,  and  the  letters  as  legible.  Is  there  not  a  thin 
veil  laid  over  Thy  Word,  which  is  more  rarefied  by  reading,  and 
at  last  wholly  worn  away  ?  .  .  .  I  see  the  oil  of  Thy  word  will 
never  leave  increasing  whilst  any  bring  an  empty  barrel.  The 
Old  Testament  will  still  be  a  New  Testament  to  him  who  comes 
with  a  fresh  desire  of  information.  .  .  .  How  fruitful  are  the  seeming 
barren  places  of  Scripture.  Bad  ploughmen,  which  make  balks 
of  such  ground.  Wheresoever  the  surface  of  God's  Word  doth 
not  laugh  and  sing  with  corn,  there  the  heart  thereof  within 
is  merry  with  mines,  affording,  where  not  plain  matter,  hidden 
mysteries." — Fullkr,  Good  TJioughts  in  Bad  Ti7nes. 


CHRIST  AS  A   STUDENT  OF  SCRIPTURE.         163 

who  can  quote  a  text  so  that  it  becomes  transfigured 
and  shines  in  his  argument  Hke  a  gem.  What  gives 
this  power  ?  It  comes  when  the  mind  can  go  down 
and  down  through  the  text  till  it  reaches  the  great 
lake  of  light  that  lies  beneath  all  the  texts,  and 
a  jet  from  that  fiery  sea  comes  up  and  burns  on  the 
surface. 

We  are  too  easily  satisfied  with  enjoying  isolated 
texts.  The  shock  and  stimulus  which  a  single  text 
can  give  is  very  valuable,  but  a  whole  book  of 
Scripture  can  give  a  far  more  powerful  shock,  if  we 
read  it  from  beginning  to  end  and  try  to  grasp  its 
message  as  a  whole.  From  this  we  may  advance 
to  groups  of  books.  Sometimes  we  might  take  a 
single  subject  and  go  through  the  whole  Bible  to  find 
out  what  is  taught  on  it.  And  why  should  we  not 
at  last  make  the  attempt  to  grasp  all  that  the  Bible 
has  to  teach,  for  faith  on  the  one  hand  and  for 
conduct  on  the  other  ? 

The  best  guide  to  the  fulness  of  Scripture  is  to 
search  it,  as  Jesus  did,  as  the  chart  of  our  own  hfe. 
In  a  different  way,  indeed,  from  that  in  which  He 
found  His  life  prefigured  there,  yet  in  a  perfectly 
legitimate  way,  we  shall  find  the  exact  form  and 
image  of  our  own.  In  precept  and  promise  and 
examp'ie  we  shall  see  every  deed  we  have  to  do, 
every  resolution  we  have  to  form,  every  turn  in  life 


i64  IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


we  have  to  take,  laid  down  ;  and,  if  we  act  as  it  is 
written,  we  shall  be  able  to  follow  up  what  we  do 
by  saying,  as  He  so  often  did,  "  This  has  been  done 
that  the  Scripture  might  be  fulfilled." 

Such  a  course  earnestly  followed  will,  however, 
bring  us  still  nearer  to  His  method  of  studying 
the  Scriptures  ;  for  it  will  inevitably  land  us  in  the 
great  central  current  which  runs  through  the  whole 
of  Scripture  from  first  to  last.  What  is  this  >  It  is 
nothing  but  Christ  Himself.  The  whole  stream  and 
drift  of  the  Old  Testament  moves  straight  to  the 
cross  of  Christ.  The  whole  New  Testament  is 
nothing  but  the  portrait  of  Christ.  Let  a  man  seek 
the  true  course  of  his  own  life  in  the  Word,  and 
inevitably  it  will  land  him  at  the  cross,  to  seek  mercy 
as  a  perishing  sinner  in  the  Saviour's  wounds  ;  and 
let  him,  starting  afresh  from  this  point  of  departure, 
seek  his  true  course  still  farther,  and  inevitably  what 
he  will  see  will  be,  rising  upon  him  in  the  distance, 
astonishing  and  enchaining  him,  but  drawing  him 
ever  on,  the  image  of  perfection  in  the  man  Christ 
Jesus. 


IX. 
CHRIST  AS  A  WORKER 


Matt.  iv.  24.  Luke  vi.  19. 

viii.  16,  17.  ,,  X.  2. 

ix.  35.  „  xii.  I. 

xi.  I,  4>  5-  M  xiii.  32,  33 
xii.  15. 
xiii.  2 

xiv.  13,  14,  35,  36, 
XV.  30. 
xix.  I,  2 

John  ii.  4. 

,,  iv.  32-34. 

Mark  ii.  2.  „  vii.  6,  8. 

„     iii.  20.  „  ix.  4. 

„     vi.  31.  54-56.  „  xii.  23. 

„      xiii.  34.  ,,  xvii.  4. 

xiv  8  ,.  xix.  30. 


CHAPTER  IX.  ^ 

CHRIST  AS   A  WORKER. 

'TPHERE  are  two  ideals  as  to  work — the  one  to 
■*'  do  as  little,  and  the  other  to  do  as  much,  as 
possible.  The  former  may  be  called  the  Oriental, 
the  latter  the  Occidental,  ideal.  The  child  of  the 
East,  living  in  a  warm  climate,  where  movement  or 
exertion  soon  tires,  counts  idleness  the  height  of 
enjoyment,  and  passes  his  time,  if  he  can,  in  a  lazy 
dream.  His  very  clothing  is  an  index  of  his  tastes 
— the  capacious  garment,  the  loose  slipper.  The 
son  of  the  West,  on  the  contrary,  is  apt  to  be  a 
stirring  being  ;  he  likes  the  excitement  of  endeavour 
and  the  exultation  of  achievement.  His  clothing  is 
the  least  elegant  in  the  world,  but  it  has  one  virtue 
which  in  his  eyes  is  a  sufficient  compensation  :  it  is 
suitable  for  movement  and  work.  His  very  pastimes 
are  strenuous :  whilst  the  Oriental  after  work  stretches 
himself  on  a  divan,  the  Briton  spends  his  leisure  in 
football  or  hunting. 

Even  in  the  West,  indeed,  there  are  great  differ- 
ences in  the  tastts  of  individuals.    People  of  lethargic 


i68  IMAGO   CHRISTl. 


temperament  are  slow  to  work  and  prone  to  laziness, 
whilst  those  of  the  choleric  temperament  sometimes 
carry  the  enthusiasm  for  exertion  to  such  extremes 
that  they  do  not  feel  right  unless  they  are  in  a  kind 
of  tempest  of  occupation.  Among  certain  classes 
the  goal  of  ambition  is  to  be  in  a  position  to  be  able, 
if  you  choose,  to  do  nothing  ;  this  is  called  being  a 
gentleman.  But  the  shrewder  heads  perceive  that 
the  pleasures  of  such  a  position,  when  it  is  won, 
seldom  come  up  to  the  expectations  of  its  possessor, 
unless,  when  released  from  a  bread-winning  calling, 
he  voluntarily  devotes  himself  to  some  of  those  in- 
valuable services  to  the  community  or  the  Church 
which  the  leisured  can  best  discharge,  and  on  which 
the  welfare  of  modern  society  so  much  depends. 

Such  are  the  differences  which  prevail  amongst 
men  when  choosing  only  according  to  taste  or 
temperament;  but  on  this  subject,  as  elsewhere,  our 
Lord  has  set  before  us,  in  His  teaching  and  example, 
the  will  of  God. 

I. 

In  its  bearing  on  this  question  there  is  endless 
significance  in  the  fact  that  Jesus  was  born  in 
the  cottage  of  a  working  man  and  spent  the 
greater  part  of  His  life  doing  the  work  of  a 
village   carpenter.      It   is  impossible  to  believe  that 


CHRIST  AS  A    WORKER.  169 

this  happened  by  chance  ;  for  the  minutest  cir- 
cumstances of  the  life  of  Christ  must  have  been 
ordered  by  God.  The  Jews  expected  the  Messiah 
to  be  a  prince  ;  but  God  decreed  that  He  should 
be  born  a  working  man.  And  so  Jesus  built  the 
cottages  of  the  villagers  of  Nazareth,  constructed 
the  waggon  of  the  farmer,  and  mended  perhaps 
the   plaything   of  the  child. 

This  sheds  immortal  honour  upon  work.  The 
Greeks  and  the  Romans  despised  manual  labour, 
accounting  it  only  fit  for  slaves  ;  and  this  pagan 
notion  easily  slips  back  into  the  minds  of  men. 
But  the  example  of  the  Son  of  man  will  always 
protect  the  dignity  of  honest  labour ;  and  the 
heart  of  the  artisan  will  sing  at  his  work  as  he 
remembers  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  stood  at  the 
bench  and  handled   the  tools  of  the  carpenter. 

The  virtue  of  work  is  manifold.  It  stamps  the 
brute  earth  and  the  raw  materials  taken  out  of 
it  with  the  signature  of  mind,*  which  is  the  image 
and  superscription  of  Him  who  is  the  Supreme 
Reason.     It   is  a  contribution   to  the  happiness  of 


*  Compare  Schleiermacher's  definition  of  Ethics,  as  "  the 
collective  operation  of  active  human  reason  upon  nature,"  and 
of  the  aim  of  moral  effort  as  "the  perfect  inter-penetration  ol 
reason  and  nature,  a  permeation  of  nature  by  reason." — Wuttke, 
Ch?-istian  Ethics,  vol.  i.,  p.  48  (translation). 


lyo  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


the  race,  and  it  brings  the  individual  into  co-opera- 
tion with  all  his  fellow-creatures  in  the  common 
task  of  taking  possession  of  their  habitation.  It 
reacts  too  on  the  worker.  It  is  a  daily  school  ol 
patience,  sympathy  and  honesty.  The  man  who 
scamps  his  work  degrades  himself. 

Our  age  has  learnt  these  truths  well,  because 
they  have  been  expounded  to  it  by  several  of  its 
favourite  and  wisest  teachers  ;  and  there  is  no 
healthier  element  in  the  literature  of  our  century 
than  this  Gospel  of  Labour,  as  it  is  called.  It 
has  taught  many  a  man  to  do  his  work  thoroughly, 
not  merely  because  he  is  paid  for  it,  but  because 
he  delights  in  it  for  its  own  sake  and  respects 
himself  too  much  to  pass  off  for  work  what  he 
knows  to  be  sham.* 


•  "  '  Who  draws  a  line  and  satisfies  his  soul, 

Making  it  crooked  where  it  should  be  straight  ? 

An  idiot  with  an  oyster-shell  may  draw 

His  lines  along  the  sand,  all  wavering, 

Fixing  no  point  or  pathway  to  a  point ; 

An  idiot  one  remove  may  choose  his  line, 

Straggle  and  be  content ;  but,  God  be  praised, 

Antonio  Stradivari  has  an  eye 

That  winces  at  false  work  and  loves  the  true, 

With  hand  and  arm  that  play  upon  the  tool 

As  willingly  as  any  singing  bird 

Sets  him  to  sing  his  morning  roundelay, 

Because  he  likes  to  sing  and  likes  the  song. 


CHRIST  AS  A    WORKER.  171 

II. 

Although  the  commonest  work  well  done  is 
Honourable,  every  kind  of  work  is  not  of  equal 
honour.  There  are  some  callings  in  which  a  man 
can  contribute  far  more  directly  and  amply  than 
in  others  to  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-creatures, 
and  these  stand  highest  in  the  scale  of  honour. 

It  was  on  this  principle  that  Jesus  acted  when 
He  quitted  the  bench  of  the  carpenter  to  devote 
Himself   to    preaching    and    healing.     Than    these 


Then  Naldo :  '  'Tis  a  petty  kind  of  fame 
At  best,  that  comes  of  making  violins  ; 
And  saves  no  masses,  either.     Thou  wilt  go 
To  purgatory  none  the  less.' 

But  he : 

'  'Twere  purgatory  here  to  make  them  ill ; 

And  for  my  fame — when  any  master  holds, 

'Twixt  chin  and  hand  a  violin  of  mine. 

He  will  be  glad  that  Stradivari  lived. 

Made  violins,  and  made  them  of  the  best. 

The  masters  only  know  whose  work  is  good : 

They  will  choose  mine ;  and,  while  God  gives  them  skill 

I  give  them  instruments  to  play  upon, 

God  choosing  me  to  help  Him.' 

'  What  I  were   God 
At  fault  for  violins,  thou  absent  ? ' 

'Yes; 
He  were  at  fault  for  Stradivari's  work.'" 

George  Eliot,  Stradivarius 


172  IMAGO   CHRISTL 


two  there  are  no  callings  more  honourable,  the  one 
ministering  directly  to  the  soul  and  the  other  to 
the  body.  By  adopting  them,  however,  Jesus 
stamped  a  fresh  dignity  on  the  work  both  of  the 
preacher  and  of  the  physician ;  and,  ever  since,  many 
in  both  professions  have  gone  about  their  duties 
with  intenser  ardour  and  enjoyment  because  they 
have  been  conscious  of  walking  in   His  footsteps. 

But,  though  His  work  had  changed,  He  was 
not  less  a  worker  than  He  had  been  before.  It 
is  a  common  theme  of  discussion  between  manual 
and  professional  labourers  whether  the  toil  of  the 
hand  or  that  of  the  brain  is  the  more  severe. 
The  artisan  thinks  that  his  well-clothed  neighbour, 
who  does  not  need  to  touch  rough  materials  or 
lift  heavy  loads,  has  an  easy  time  of  it ;  whilst 
the  professional  man,  harassed  with  anxiety  and 
responsibility,  sighs  for  the  regular  hours,  the  well- 
learnt  task  and  the  freedom  from  care  of  the 
working  man.  This  is  a  controversy  which  will 
never  be  decided.  But  it  is  certain,  in  the  case 
of  Jesus  at  least,  that  it  was  when  He  entered 
on  His  new  career  that  the  real  hard  work  of 
His  life  began.  His  three  years  of  work  as 
preacher  and  healer  were  years  of  unexampled 
toil.  Wherever  He  went  multitudes  followed  Him ; 
when    He    went    into    any    new    region,    they    sent 


CHRIST  AS  A    WORKER.  173 

into  all  the  country  round  about  and  brought 
unto  Him  all  that  were  diseased  in  mind  or 
body  ;  the  crowds  about  Him  sometimes  swelled 
to  such  dimensions  that  the  people  trode  one 
upon  another  ;  and  sometimes  He  had  not  time 
even  to  eat.  Such  was  the  pressure  and  conges- 
tion of  work  with  which  He  was  beset.  It  is 
the  kind  of  life  which  many  have  to  live  in  this 
busy  age  ;  but  we  can  look  to  Jesus  and  see  in 
what  spirit  to  carry  the  burden. 

HI. 

In  Christ's  teaching  there  are  many  sayings  on  the 
responsibility  of  devoting  our  time  and  strength  to 
the  work  of  the  world.  We  are  servants,  to  every 
one  of  whom  the  Divine  Taskmaster  has  given  his 
own  work  ;  and,  when  He  returns,  He  will  rigidly 
require  an  account  of  whether  or  not  it  has  been 
done. 

The  most  solemn  utterance  of  this  kind  is  the 
great  parable  of  the  talents.  The  master,  going 
into  a  far  country,  leaves  each  of  his  servants  with 
a  certain  amount  of  money,  one  with  more,  another 
with  less  ;  it  is  to  be  well  employed  in  his  absence ; 
and,  when  he  comes  back,  he  looks  to  receive  not 
only  the  principal,  but  the  additional  money  it  has 
gained.      Those  who  have  made  use  of  their  trust 


174  IMAGO   CHKISTI. 


diligently  enter  into  the  joy  of  their  lord  ;  but  the 
servant  who  has  done  nothing  with  his  talent  is  cast 
into  outer  darkness.  It  is  a  parable  of  truly  awful 
solemnity.  It  evidently  means  that  at  the  last 
judgment  God  will  expect  us  to  produce  work  done 
equivalent  to  the  talents  and  opportunities  He  has 
conferred  upon  us  ;  and  merely  to  have  done  nothing 
with  them,  as  the  man  with  one  talent  did,  will  be 
enough  to  condemn  us.  It  is  not  necessary  to  waste 
our  time  and  squander  our  strength,  money  and  other 
gifts  on  bad  objects  :  merely  to  have  failed  to  expend 
them  on  the  work  of  life  will  incur  the  extreme 
penalty  of  the  law.* 

This  is  an  exceedingly  severe  view  of  life  ;  but  it 
is  the  view  by  which  Jesus  lived  Himself.  He  did 
not  preach  what  He  did  not  practise.  He  was 
doubtless  conscious  of  possessing  vast  powers  and 
of    being   capable   of  exerting    an    influence  which 

•  "  And  who  art  thou  that  braggest  of  thy  life  of  Idleness ; 
complacently  showest  thy  bright  gilt  equipages;  sumptuous 
cushions ;  appliances  for  folding  of  the  hands  to  mere  sleep  ? 
Looking  up,  looking  down,  around,  behind  or  before,  discernest 
thou,  if  it  be  not  in  Mayfair  alone,  any  idle  hero,  saint,  god,  or 
even  devil  ?  Not  a  vestige  of  one.  In  the  Heavens,  in  the 
Earth,  in  the  Waters  under  the  Earth,  is  none  like  unto  thee. 
Thou  art  an  original  figure  in  this  Creation ;  a  denizen  in  Mayfair 
alone,  in  this  extraordinary  Century  or  Half-Century  alone  1  One 
monster  there  is  in  the  world :  the  idle  man.  What  is  his 
'  Religion  '  ?     That  Nature  is  a  Phantom,  where  cunning  beggary 


CHRIST  AS  A    WORKER.  175 

would  produce  enormous  changes  both  on  indivi- 
duals and  in  history.  But  the  time  allowed  Him 
for  putting  this  influence  forth  and  impressing 
it  on  the  world  was  very  brief.  He  knew  this, 
and  He  always  acted  like  one  who  has  a  great 
work  to  do  and  little  time  to  do  it.  Every  hour 
of  His  time  seemed  to  be  apportioned  to  its  own 
part  of  the  task,  for,  when  asked  to  do  anything 
sooner  than  He  intended,  He  would  say,  "  Mine 
hour  is  not  yet  come."  Everything  with  Him  had 
its  own  hour.  This  made  Him  bold  in  the  face  of 
danger,  for  He  knew  that  He  was  immortal  till  His 
work  was  done.  As  He  said,  there  are  twelve  hours 
in  the  day  of  a  human  life,  and,  till  these  are  spent, 
a  man  walks  in  safety  beneath  the  shield  of  Provi- 
dence. The  edge  of  earnestness  on  His  spirit  grew 
keener  as  time  went  on  ;  the  purpose  of  life  burned 


or  thievery  may  sometimes  find  good  victual.  That  God  is  a  lie  ; 
and  that  Man  and  his  life  are  a  lie. — Alas,  alas,  who  of  us  is 
there  that  can  say,  I  have  worked  ?  The  faithfullest  of  us  are 
unprofitable  servants  ;  the  faithfullest  of  us  know  that  best.  The 
faithfullest  of  us  may  say,  with  sad  and  true  old  Samuel,  '  Much 
of  my  life  has  been  trifled  away ! '  But  he  that  has,  and  except 
'on  public  occasions'  professes  to  have,  no  function  but  that  of 
going  idle  in  a  graceful  or  graceless  manner,  and  of  begetting 
sons  to  go  idle;  ...  on  what  iron  spikes  is  he  rushing?" — 
Carlyle,  Past  and  Present. 

On   this  subject   the   professional   philosophers   are   no   less 
severe.     See  Dorner,  Christliche  Sittenlehre,  p.  460. 


176  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


more  within  Him,  and  He  v/as  straitened  till  it 
should  be  accomplished.  On  His  last  journey  to 
Jerusalem,  as  He  went  before  His  disciples  in  the 
way,  "  they  were  amazed,  and,  as  they  followed,  they 
were  afraid."  "  I  must  work  the  work  of  Him  that 
sent  Me,"  He  would  say,  "  while  it  is  day  ;  the  night 
Cometh,  when  no  man  can  work." 

IV. 

There  is  intense  joy  in  work  when  it  is  done  and 
well  done.  The  humblest  mechanic  feels  this  plea- 
sure, when  he  sees  the  article  he  has  been  making 
passing  out  of  his  hands  perfect.  The  poet  surely 
feels  it  when  he  writes  Finis  at  the  end  of  the 
work  into  which  he  has  poured  the  full  force  of  his 
genius.  What  must  it  have  been  to  William  Wilber- 
force  to  hear  on  his  deathbed  that  the  cause  to  which 
he  had  devoted  the  toil  of  a  lifetime  had  triumphed, 
and  to  know  that,  when  he  died,  there  would  not  be 
a  single  slave  breathing  in  any  of  the  dependencies 
of  Britain  ! 

Jesus  drank  deeply  of  this  well  of  pleasure.  The 
work  He  was  doing  was  done  perfectly  at  every 
stage  ;  and  it  was  work  of  the  most  beneficent  and 
enduring  kind.  As  He  saw  part  after  part  of  it 
falling  accomplished  behind  Him,  as  He  saw  hour 
after    hour    receding    into  the    past   filled   with   its 


CHRIST  AS  A    WORKER.  177 


God-appointed  work,  He  whispered  to  Himself,  "  My 
meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  Me,  and  to 
finish  His  work."  And  in  the  article  of  death,  as 
He  saw  the  last  fold  of  the  grand  design  unrolled, 
He  passed  out  of  the  world  with  the  cry  on  His  lips, 
"  It  is  finished  ! "  He  uttered  this  cry  as  a  soldier 
might  do  on  the  battlefield,  who  perceives,  with  the 
last  effort  of  consciousness,  that  the  struggle  in  which 
he  has  sacrificed  his  life  has  been  a  splendid  victory. 
But  the  triumph  and  the  reward  of  His  work  never 
come  to  an  end  ;  for  still,  as  the  results  of  what  He 
did  unfold  themselves  age  after  age,  as  His  words 
sink  deeper  into  the  minds  of  men,  as  His  influence 
changes  the  face  of  the  world,  and  as  heaven  fills 
with  those  whom  He  has  redeemed,  "  He  shall  see 
of  the  travail  of  His  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied." 


V. 


Rest  is  as  necessary  a  part  of  life  as  work.  Even 
for  work's  sake  it  is  necessary  ;  for  it  restores  the 
worker  to  himself,  putting  him  in  possession  of  all 
his  powers  and  enabling  him  to  do  his  best. 

Jesus  knew  how  to  rest  as  well  as  how  to  work. 
Though  there  was  constant  haste  in  His  life,  there 
was  no  hurry  ;  though  there  was  much  pressure,  there 
was  no  confusion.      Nothing  was  more  conspicuous 


1 78  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


in  Him  than  His  unvarying  dignity,  calmness  and 
self-possession. 

He  never  did  anything  unprepared.  As  He  never 
did  anything  before  the  time,  so  He  never  did  any- 
thing after  it.  One-half  of  the  worry  and  confusion 
of  life  arises  from  doing  things  at  the  wrong  time, 
the  mind  being  either  weakened  by  borrowing  to-day 
the  trouble  of  to-morrow  or  exhausted  by  having  on 
hand  not  only  to-day's  work  but  that  which  ought 
to  have  been  done  yesterday.  God  never  wants  us 
to  do  more  in  a  day  than  we  have  time  for  ;  and  the 
day  will  be  found  to  have  room  enough  for  its  own 
work  if  it  is  not  encumbered  with  the  work  of  the 
day  past  or  the  care  of  the  day  to  come.* 

Jesus  was  ready  for  every  duty  because  He  came 
up  with  it  strengthened  by  the  perfect  discharge 
of  the  duty  preceding  it.  His  work  in  the  car- 
penter's shop  was  a  preparation  for  the  work  of 
preaching.  It  acquainted  Him  with  human  nature 
and  human  life,  initiating  Him  especially  into 
the  joys  and  sorrows  of  the  poor,  to  whom  it  was 
afterwards  His  boast  to  preach.  Many  a  preacher 
misses  the  mark  because,  though  he  knows  books, 

*  "  ^sthetically  we  may  say  that  want  of  time  is  want  of 
genius  ;  for  genius  accomplishes  in  a  very  short  time,  and  in  right 
time,  what  others  cannot  accomplish  in  an  unlimited  time.  But 
ethically  expressed,  it  is  this :  want  of  time  is  want  of  moraj 
energy  and  wisdom." — Martensen,  General  Ethics,  p.  426. 


CHRIST  AS  A    WORKER.  179 

he  does  not  know  men.     But    Jesus    "  knew  what 
was  in  man,  and  needed  not  that  any  should  teach 
Him."      He  did  not  quit  this  school   of  experience 
till    He   was    thirty    years   of   age.      Eager    as    He 
must  have  been  for  the  work  which  lay  before  Him, 
He   did    not    rush    into  it  prematurely,  but  waited 
hidden   in    the   country,    till   mind    and    body   were 
mature   and    everything   fully   ripe ;    and    then   He 
came    forth    travelling     in    the    greatness     of    His 
strength  and  did  His  work  swiftly,  surely,  perfectly. 
But  in  the  midst  of  His  work  also  He  took  means 
to  preserve   His  independence  and    peace  of  mind. 
When    the   multitude    pressing    on    Him    grew   too 
large    and    stayed   too   long,  He    withdrew   Himseli 
into  the  wilderness.       Neither  the  desire  to  go  on 
preaching    nor   even    the  appeals  of   the   sick    and 
dying  could   detain    Him  when   He  felt   He  needed 
to  preserve   His  own  calmness  and    self-possession. 
After  days  of  too  crowded  work   He  would  disap- 
pear, to  refresh  His  body  by  casting  it  on  the  breast 
of  nature  and  His  soul   by  casting  it  on  the  bosom 
of  God.       When    He    saw    His   disciples  becoming 
exhausted    or    excited,    He   would  say,  "  Come    ye 
yourselves    apart    into   a   desert   place    and    rest    a 
while."      For  even  in  the  holiest  work  it  is  possible 
to   lose  oneself      One  may  resign   oneself  so  com- 
pletely to  the  appeals  and  needs  of  men  as  to  have 


i8o  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


no  leisure  for  communion  with  God.  The  enthu- 
siastic minister,  consumed  with  zeal  and  willing  to 
please  everybody,  neglects  his  study  and  allows  his 
mind  to  become  starved  ;  and  the  result  is  inevitable. 
He  becomes  stale,  flat  and  unprofitable  ;  and  those 
whose  importunities  have  induced  him  to  sacrifice 
his  true  self  are  the  first  to  turn  round  and  complain 
that  he  has  disappointed  them. 

For  the  great  mass  of  the  world's  workers  the 
principal  opportunity  of  rest  is  the  Sabbath.*  Jesus 
threw  His  shield  over  this  institution,  maintaining 
that  it  was  made  for  man,  and  therefore  none  had 

*  "  The  importance  to  a  statesman  of  refusing  to  be  hurried 
was  recognised  by  Talleyrand.  He  had  drawn  up  a  confession 
of  faith,  which  was  to  be  sent  to  the  Pope  on  the  day  of  his 
death.  On  the  day  before  he  died  he  was  supposed  to  be  at  the 
point  of  death,  and  he  was  asked  whetifer  the  paper  should  be 
sent  off.  His  reply  was  addressed  to  the  Duchesse  de  Dino,  who 
repeated  it  to  the  first  Lord  Ashburton,  from  whom  I  heard  it : 
*  Attendez  jusqtid  demain.  Toute  ma  vie  je  me  siiis  fait  une 
regie  de  ne  jamais  me  presser,  et  fat  toujours  ete  a  temps' 

"  With  a  view  to  promote  thorough  calmness,  orderliness, — and 
with  higher  views  also,  though  these  have  respect  to  the  man 
rather  than  exclusively  to  the  statesman, — it  were  to  be  wished 
that  he  should  set  apart  from  business,  not  only  a  sabbatical  day 
in  each  week,  but,  if  it  be  possible,  a  sabbatical  hour  in  each 
day.  I  do  not  here  refer  to  his  devotional  exercises  exclusively, 
but  to  the  advantage  he  may  derive  from  quitting  the  current  of 
busy  thoughts,  and  cutting  out  for  himself  m  each  day  a  sort  of 
cell  for  reading  or  meditation— a  space  resembling  one  of  those 
bights  or  incurvations  in  the  course  of  a  rapid  stream  (called  by 


CHRIST  AS  A    WORKER.  l%\ 

the  right  to  take  it  from  him.  In  His  day  those  who 
tried  to  take  it  away  were  the  Pharisees,  who  con- 
verted it  from  a  day  of  sacred  delight  into  a  day  set 
with  thorns  to  wound  the  conscience.  This  danger 
is  not  yet  past  ;  but  in  our  day  the  attack  comes 
more  from  the  other  side  —  from  the  Sadducees 
rather  than  the  Pharisees.  The  movements  against 
the  Sabbath  originate  at  present  almost  entirely 
with  the  idle  rich,  who  naturally,  after  spending  six 
days  in  a  round  of  pleasure  and  dissipation,  have 
no  taste  for  a  day  of  quietness,  when  they  might 
have  to  look  within  and  face  themselves.  If  they 
obeyed  the  first   part  of  the  fourth  commandment, 

the  Spaniards  resting-places),  where  the  waters  seem  to  tarry  and 
repose  themselves  for  a  while.  This,  if  it  were  only  by  exer- 
cising the  statesman's  powers  of  self-government — of  intention 
and  remission  in  business,  of  putting  the  mind  on  and  taking  it 
off — would  be  a  practice  well  paid  ;  for  it  is  to  these  powers  that 
he  must  owe  his  exemption  from  the  dangers  to  mind,  body,  and 
business  of  continued  nervous  excitement.  But  to  a  statesman 
of  a  high  order  of  intellect  such  intermissions  of  labour  will  yield 
a  further  profit ;  they  will  tend  to  preserve  in  him  some  remains 
of  such  philosophic  or  meditative  faculties  as  may  be  crumbling 
under  the  shocks  and  pressures  of  public  life.  One  who  shall 
have  been  deeply  imbued  in  his  early  years  with  the  love  of 
meditative  studies,  will  find  that  in  any  such  hour  of  tranquillity 
which  he  shall  allow  himself,  the  recollection  of  them  will  spring 
up  in  his  mind  with  a  light  and  spiritual  emanation,  in  like 
manner  (to  resume  the  similitude)  as  a  bubble  of  air  springs 
from  the  bottom  of  the  stayed  waters."' — Sir  Henry  Taylor, 
T}i4  Statesman,  pp.  275,  276. 


i8i  Imago  christi. 

•'  Six  days  shalt  thou  labour,"  they  would  have  more 
comprehension  of  the  second.  They  generally  pro- 
fess, indeed,  to  be  acting  in  the  interest  of  the  poor  ; 
but  they  take  the  name  of  the  poor  in  vain,  for  the 
poor  know  better.  They  know  that,  wherever  the 
sacredness  of  the  Sabbath  is  overridden,  the  poor 
man  has  seven  days  to  toil  instead  of  six.  Wherever 
the  continental  Sunday  prevails,  the  noise  of  mill 
and  foundry  is  heard  on  Sabbath  as  well  as  Satur- 
day ;  and,  should  the  working  classes  of  this  country 
ever  yield  to  a  movement  for  secularising  the  Lord's 
Day,  they  will  find  it  true  that,  whilst  they  that 
honour  God  are  honoured,  those  who  despise  Him 
shall  be  lightly  esteemed. 

It  is,  however,  a  problem  always  requiring  fresh 
consideration,  as  the  conditions  of  life  change,  how 
to  observe  the  Sabbath.  The  day  of  rest  is  not 
rightly  spent  unless  it  is  a  delight  to  man  as  well  as 
holiness  to  the  Lord.  But  surely  the  best  security 
for  reaping  all  the  fruits  it  was  intended  to  yield  is 
to  spend  it  in  the  spirit  and  the  company  of  Him 
after  whom  it  is  called  the  Lord's  Day. 


X. 
CHRIST  AS   A   SUFFERER 


Matt.  ii.  13-18. 

„  iv.  r, 

„  viii.  16.  17,  20. 

,.  ix.  3. 

„  xi.  19. 

,,  xii.  24. 

„  xiii.  54-58. 

,,  xvi.  21. 

„  xvii.  22.  23. 

„  XX.  17-19. 

,,  xxvi. 

„  xxvii. 


Mark  iii.  21,  22. 

,,  viii.  17-21. 

„  ix.  19 

„  xiv.  50. 


Luke  iv.  28,  29. 
„      vi.  7. 
„      xi.  53,  54. 
e,      xvi.  14. 


John  vi.  66. 

vii.  7,  12;  19.20:  32,'5: 

ix.  16,  22,  29. 

X.  20. 

xii.  10,  II,  27. 

XV.   18. 

xvii.  14. 

xviii.  22. 


CHAPTER  X. 
CHRIST  AS  A  SUFFERER. 

I. 

WORK  is  but  one  half  of  life  ;  suffering  is 
the  other.  There  is  a  hemisphere  of  the 
world  in  the  sunshine  of  work,  but  there  is  another 
in  the  shadow  of  suffering. 

Not,  indeed,  that  in  any  life  these  states  alternate 
with  anything  like  the  same  regularity  with  which 
the  earth  rolls  out  of  darkness  into  light,  and  back 
again  from  light  into  darkness.  Nothing  is  more 
mysterious  than  the  proportions  in  which  the  two 
elements  are  distributed  in  different  lots.  Some 
enjoy  the  exhilaration  of  successful  exertion  nearly 
all  their  days,  and  know  little  or  nothing  of  illness, 
bereavement  or  defeat.  Others  appear  to  be  marked 
out  by  suffering  for  its  own.  All  through  life  they 
are  "  acquainted  with  grief ;  "  they  are  scarcely  ever 
out  of  mourning,  because  ever  and  anon  death  is 
knocking  at  their  door  to  claim  their  dearest  ;  their 


1 86  IMAGO   CHRISTl. 

own  health  is  precarious  ;  and,  whatever  dreams  of 
high  and  sustained  achievement  may  visit  them, 
they  know,  as  soon  as  the  excitement  subsides,  that 
they  have  not  physical  strength  to  carry  out  their 
vision. 

If  you  are  a  child  of  fortune,  scarcely  ever 
knowing  a  day's  ill  health  and  delighting  in  your 
work,  whose  results  you  see  day  by  day  waxing 
greater  and  more  imposing  behind  you,  go  and 
stand  by  the  bedside  of  an  invalid  laid  down  with 
incurable  disease.  There  you  may  recognise  a  mind 
more  capable  than  your  own,  a  heart  as  fit  as  yours 
for  love  and  enjoyment ;  but  an  invisible  chain  is 
wound  round  the  limbs  and  holds  them  fast  ;  and, 
though  the  martyrdom  may  last  for  ten  or  twenty 
years,  that  figure  will  never  rise  with  its  own  strength 
from  where  it  lies.  What  does  your  philosophy 
make  of  such  a  sight }  Yet  it  is  only  an  extreme 
instance  of  what  is  occurring  in  a  thousand  forms. 
The  children  of  sorrow  are  numerous,  and  nc 
man  knows  how  soon  his  own  life  of  work  may  be 
changed  into  a  life  of  suffering.  Any  moment  a 
bolt  may  break  from  the  blue  and  alter  everything. 
A  cloud  no  bigger  than  a  man's  hand  may  wax  and 
spread  till  it  drapes  the  sky  in  blackness  from  horizon 
to  horizon.  And,  even  if  no  such  awful  calamity 
come,  time  brings  to  all  their  own  share  of  suffering. 


CHRIST  AS  A   SUFFERER.  187 

There  is  no  flock,  however  watched  and  tended, 

But  one  dead  lamb  is  there ; 
There  is  no  household,  howsoe'er  defended, 

But  has  one  vacant  chair. 

Suffering,  then,  is  not  an  element  of  life  that  can 
be  ignored.  If  we  need  one  to  show  us  how  to 
work,  not  less  do  we  need  one  to  teach  us  how  to 
suffer.  And  here,  again,  the  Son  of  man  does  not 
fail  us.  Whilst  He  is  the  great  Captain  of  work, 
calling  out  the  young  and  the  energetic  to  dare 
and  to  achieve.  He  is  also  the  sufferer's  Friend, 
round  whom  are  gathered  the  weak,  the  disappointed 
and  the  agonized.  When  on  the  cross  He  cried, 
"  It  is  finished,"  He  was  referring  not  only  to  the 
work  of  His  life  successfully  accomplished,  but  also 
to  the  cup  of  suffering  drunk  out  to  the  last  drop. 

II. 

I.  Jesus  suffered  from  what  may  be  called  the 
ordinary  privations  of  humanity.  He  was  born  in  a 
stable  and  laid  in  a  manger,  thus  at  the  very  outset 
of  His  career  stepping  into  the  dark  hemisphere  of 
suffering.  We  know  little  of  the  social  condition  in 
which  He  was  brought  up  :  we  cannot  tell  whether 
or  not  in  Mary's  home  He  dwelt  much  in  the  shadow 
of  want  and  misfortune.  But  at  a  later  stage,  we 
know  from  Himself,  "  foxes  had  holes  and  the  birds 


IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


of  the  air  had  nests,  but  the  Son  of  man  had  not 
where  to  lay  His  head."  It  is  not  often  that  one  of 
the  children  of  men  is  reduced  so  low  as  thus  to  have 
to  envy  the  beast  its  lair  and  the  bird  its  nest.  As 
a  rule  the  end  of  human  life,  when  the  habitation 
in  which  the  soul  has  tabernacled  is  broken  up,  is 
attended  with  more  or  less  of  suffering  ;  but  the 
physical  suffering  which  He  endured  at  the  last  was 
extreme.  We  need  only  recall  the  bloody  sweat  of 
Gethsemane  ;  the  scourging,  when  His  body,  bent 
over  a  short  post,  was  beaten  with  all  the  force  of 
cruel  soldiers  ;  the  thrusting  of  the  crown  of  thorns 
on  His  head  ;  the  complicated  tortures  of  crucifixion. 
We  may  not  be  able  to  assert  that  none  ever  suf- 
fered so  much  physical  agony  as  He,  but  this  is  at 
least  probable  ;  for  the  exquisiteness  of  His  physical 
organism  in  all  likelihood  made  Him  much  more 
sensitive    than    others   to   pain. 

2.  He  suffered  keenly  from  the  pain  of  antici- 
pating coming  evil.  When  great  sorrow  or  pain 
comes  on  suddenly,  there  is  sometimes  a  kind  of 
bewilderment  in  it  which  acts  as  an  anodyne,  and  it 
may  be  over  before  the  sufferer  thoroughly  realises  it. 
But  to  know  that  one  is  in  the  grasp  of  a  disease 
which  in,  say,  six  months  will  develop  into  intoler- 
able agony  before  carrying  one  away,  fills  the  mind 
with  a  horror  of  anticipation  which   is   worse  than 


CHRIST  AS  A   SUFFERER. 


even  the  reality  when  it  comes,  Jesus  foreknew  His 
sufferings  and  foretold  them  to  His  disciples  ;  and 
these  communications  grew  more  and  more  vivid  and 
minute  month  by  month,  as  if  they  were  taking  ever 
stronger  hold  of  His  imagination.  This  horror  of 
anticipation  culminated  in  Gethsemane  ;  for  it  was 
the  dread  of  what  was  coming  which  there  produced 
in  His  mind  such  a  tumult  of  amazement  and  agony 
that  the  sweat  fell  like  great  blood-drops  from  His 
face. 

3.  He  suffered  from  the  sense  of  being  the  cause 
of  suffering  to  others.  To  persons  of  an  unselfish 
disposition  the  keenest  pang  inflicted  by  their  own 
weakness  or  misfortunes  may  sometimes  be  to  see 
those  whom  they  would  like  to  make  happy  rendered 
miserable  through  connection  with  themselves.  To 
the  child  Jesus  how  gruesome  must  have  been  the 
story  of  the  babes  of  Bethlehem,  whom  the  sword  of 
Herod  smote  when  it  was  seeking  for  Him  !  Or,  if 
His  mother  spared  Him  this  recital,  He  must  at  least 
have  learned  how  she  and  Joseph  had  to  flee  with 
Him  to  Egypt  to  escape  the  jealousy  of  Herod. 
As  His  life  drew  near  its  close,  this  sense  that  con- 
nection with  Himself  might  be  fatal  to  His  friends 
forced  itself  more  and  more  upon  His  notice. 
When  He  was  arrested,  He  tried  to  protect 
the  Twelve  from   His  own   fate,  pleading  with   His 


I90  IMAGO   CHRISTl. 


captors,  "  Let  these  go  their  way."  But  He  foresaw 
too  clearly  that  the  world  which  hated  Him  would 
hate  them  also,  and,  as  He  said,  that  the  time  would 
come  when  whosoever  killed  them  would  think  that 
he  was  doing  God  service.  He  had  to  see  the  sword 
piercing  the  heart  of  His  mother  when  she  gazed  up 
at  Him  dying  a  death  more  shameful  in  that  age 
than  death  on   the  gallows  is  in  ours. 

4.  The  element  of  shame  was  all  through  a  large 
ingredient  in  His  cup  of  suffering.  To  a  sensitive 
mind  there  is  nothing  more  intolerable ;  it  is  far 
harder  to  bear  than  bodily  pain.  But  it  assailed 
Jesus  in  nearly  every  form,  pursuing  Him  all 
through  His  life.  He  was  railed  at  for  the 
humbleness  of  His  birth.  The  high-born  priests 
and  the  educated  rabbis  sneered  at  the  carpenter's 
son  who  had  never  learned,  and  the  wealthy  Phari- 
sees derided  Him.  He  was  again  and  again  called 
a  madman.  Evidently  this  was  what  Pilate  took 
Him  for  ;  and,  when  He  appeared  before  Herod, 
the  gay  monarch  and  his  men  of  war  "  set  Him 
at  nought."  The  Roman  soldiers  adopted  an  atti- 
tude of  savage  banter  towards  Him  all  through 
His  trial  and  crucifixion,  treating  Him  as  boys  tor- 
ment one  who  is  weak  in  the  mind.  They  spat  in 
His  face  ;  they  blindfolded  Him,  and  then,  smiting 
Him,  asked,  "  Prophesy  who  struck  thee  !  "     They 


CHRIST  AS  A  SUFFERER.  191 

made  Him  a  mock-king,  with  the  cast-off  coat  of  a 
soldier  for  a  mantle,  a  reed  for  a  sceptre,  and  the 
thorns  for  a  crown.  Under  such  indignities  had  His 
godlike  mind  to  burn.  He  heard  Barabbas  preferred 
to  Himself  by  the  voice  of  His  fellow-countrymen, 
and  He  was  crucified  between  thieves,  as  if  He  were 
the  worst  of  the  worst.  A  hail  of  mockery  kept  falling 
on  Him  in  His  dying  hours.  The  passers-by  made 
faces  of  derision  at  Him,  adding  with  their  lips  the 
vilest  insults  ;  and  even  the  thieves  who  were  cruci- 
fied with  Him  cast  contempt  in  His  teeth.  Thus 
had  He  who  was  conscious  of  irresistible  strength  to 
submit  to  be  treated  as  the  weakest  of  weaklings, 
and  He  who  was  the  Wisdom  of  the  Highest  to 
submit  to  be  used  as  if  He  were  less  than  a  man. 

5.  But  to  Jesus  it  was  more  painful  still,  being 
the  Holy  One  of  God,  to  be  regarded  and  treated 
as  the  chief  of  sinners.  To  one  who  loves  God 
and  goodness  there  can  be  nothing  so  odious  as  to 
be  suspected  of  hypocrisy  and  to  know  that  he  is 
believed  to  be  perpetrating  crimes  at  the  opposite 
extreme  from  his  public  profession.  Yet  this  was 
what  Jesus  was  accused  of.  He  was  believed  to  be 
in  collusion  with  the  powers  of  evil  and  to  cast  out 
devils  by  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  the  devils.  He 
to  whom  the  name  of  God  was  as  ointment  poured 
forth    was    called    a    blasphemer    and    a    Sabbath- 


192  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


breaker.  His  very  best  acts  were  misconstrued  ; 
and  for  going  to  seek  the  lost  where  alone  they 
could  be  found  He  had  to  submit  to  be  called  a 
glutton  and  a  winebibber,  a  friend  of  publicans  and 
sinners.  In  claiming  to  be  the  Messiah  He  was 
thought  by  the  majority  of  all  classes  to  be  an 
unscrupulous  pretender  ;  the  authorities,  both  eccle- 
siastical and  secular,  decided  so  in  solemn  court. 
Even  His  own  disciples  at  last  forsook  Him  ;  one 
of  them  betrayed  Him  ;  and  the  foremost  of  them 
all  cursed  and  swore  that  he  did  not  know  Him. 
Possibly  there  was  not  a  single  human  being,  when 
He  died,  who  believed  that  He  was  what  He  claimed 
to  be. 

6.  If  to  the  holy  soul  of  Jesus  it  was  painful  to 
be  believed  to  be  guilty  of  sins  which  He  had  not 
committed,  it  must  have  been  still  more  painful  to 
feel  that  He  was  being  thrust  into  sin  itself.  This 
attempt  was  often    made*       Satan    tried   it  in  the 

•  "  Common  usage,  1  cannot  but  think,  has  fallen  into  a  serious 
error  in  speaking  of  the  temptation  in  the  wilderness.  Men 
speak,  if  they  do  not  think,  as  if  this  temptation  stood  alone  in 
the  life  of  Christ.  Nothing  can  be  a  greater  mistake.  Our 
Lord's  whole  life  was  one  continued  temptation.  We  have  but 
to  read  the  memoirs,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  has  caused  to  be 
written  for  our  learning,  in  order  to  recognise  in  almost  every 
page  how  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  was  exposed  to  ceaseless 
temptations.      He  was  subjected  to  trials  of  temper,  trials  of 


CHRIST  AS  A   SUFFERER.  193 

wilderness,  and,  although  only  this  one  temptation 
of  his  is  detailed,  he  no  doubt  often  returned  to 
the  attack.  Wicked  men  tried  it  :  they  resorted  to 
every  device  to  cause  Him  to  lose  His  temper  and 
speak  unadvisedly  with  His  lips  :  "  They  began  to 
urge  Him  vehemently,  and  to  provoke  Him  to  speak 
of  many  things,  laying  wait  for  Him  and  seeking  to 
catch  something  out  of  His  mouth."  Even  friends, 
who  did  not  understand  the  plan  of  His  life,  endea- 
voured to  divert  Him  from  the  course  prescribed  to 
Him  by  the  will  of  God — so  much  so  that  He  had 
once  to  turn  on  one  of  them,  as  if  he  were  tempta- 
tion personified,  with  **  Get  thee  behind  Me,  Satan." 
Nothing  could  prove  more  clearly  than  such  a  saying, 
so  unlike  Him  who  uttered  it,  how  keenly  He  felt 
the  point  of  temptation,  and  what  horror  awoke  in 


character,  trials  of  principle;  He  was  harassed  by  temptations 
caused  by  nervous  irritability,  or  want  of  strength,  or  physical 
weakness,  or  bodily  weariness  ;  unfair  opposition  was  constantly 
urging  Him  to  give  way  to  undue  anger  and  unrestrained  passion ; 
or  rejection  and  desertion  would,  had  it  been  possible,  have 
betrayed  Him  into  moodiness  or  cynical  despair.  The  machina- 
tions of  His  foes,  the  fickleness  of  the  mob,  even  the  foolishness 
of  His  disciples,  were  scarcely  ever  wanting  to  try  His  spirit,  and 
would  often  goad  Him  beyond  endurance.  All  the  continually 
recurring  trials,  which  are  ever  betraying  man  into  faults  he  has 
bitterly  to  deplore,  and  into  sins  of  which  he  has  to  repent  in 
sorrow,  were  present  in  the  life  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ." — 
Bernard,  The  Menial  Chaj'acieristics  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

13 


194  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


Him  at  the  danger  of  transgressing  by  a  hairsbreadth 
the  will  of  God. 

7.  While  the  proximity  of  sin  awoke  such  loathing 
in  His  holy  soul,  and  the  touch  of  it  was  to  Him 
like  the  touch  of  fire  on  delicate  flesh,  He  was 
brought  into  the  closest  contact  with  it,  and  hence 
arose  His  deepest  suffering.  It  pressed  its  loath- 
some presence  on  Him  from  a  hundred  quarters.  He 
who  could  not  bear  to  look  on  it  saw  it  in  its  worst 
forms  close  to  His  very  eyes.  His  own  presence 
in  the  world  brought  it  out ;  for  goodness  stirs  up 
the  evil  lying  at  the  bottom  of  wicked  hearts.  The 
sacredness  of  the  Person  with  whom  they  had  to  do 
intensified  the  virulence  of  Pharisees  and  Sadducees, 
and  the  crimes  of  Pilate  and  Judas.  What  a  sea  of 
all  the  evil  passions  in  human  nature  He  was  gazing 
over  when,  as  He  hung  on  the  cross,  His  eye  fell  on 
the  upturned  faces  of  the  multitude  ! 

It  was  as  if  all  the  sin  of  the  race  were  rushing 
upon  Him,  and  Jesus  felt  as  if  it  were  all  His  own. 
In  a  large  family  of  evildoers,  where  the  father  and 
mother  are  drunkards,  the  sons  jail-birds  and  the 
daughters  steeped  in  shame,  there  may  be  one,  a 
daughter,  pure,  sensible,  sensitive,  living  in  the  home 
of  sin  like  a  lily  among  thorns.  And  she  makes  all 
the  sin  of  the  family  her  own.  The  others  do  not 
mind  it ;  the  shame  of  their  sin  is  nothing  to  them  ; 


CHRIST  AS  A   SUFFERER.  I9S 


it  is  the  talk  of  the  town,  but  they  do  not  care. 
Only  in  her  heart  their  crimes  and  disgrace  meet 
like  a  sheaf  of  spears,  piercing  and  mangling.  The 
one  innocent  member  of  the  family  bears  the  guilt 
of  all  the  rest.  Even  their  cruelty  to  herself  she 
hides,  as  if  all  the  shame  of  it  were  her  own.  Such 
a  position  did  Christ  hold  in  the  human  family. 
He  entered  it  voluntarily,  becoming  bone  of  our 
bone  and  flesh  of  our  flesh  ;  He  identified  Himself 
with  it ;  He  was  the  sensitive  centre  of  the  whole. 
He  gathered  into  His  heart  the  shame  and  guilt 
of  all  the  sin  He  saw.  The  perpetrators  did  not 
feel  it,  but  He  felt  it  It  crushed  Him  ;  it  broke 
His  heart ;  and  He  died  under  the  weight  of  the  sin 
of  others,  which   He  had   made   His  own. 

Thus  we  try  to  bring  home  to  our  thoughts  the 
mystery  of  Gethsemane  and  the  awful  cry  of  Gol- 
gotha, "  My  God,  My  God,  why  hast  Thou  forsaken 
Me?"  Cut  it  is  still  a  mystery.  Who  can  draw 
near  to  that  figure  prostrate  beneath  the  olive  trees 
in  the  garden,  or  listen  to  that  voice  sounding  from 
the  cross,  without  feeling  that  there  is  a  sorrow 
there  whose  depths  we  cannot  fathom  ?  We  draw 
as  near  as  we  may,  but  something  calls  to  us, 
"  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come,  but  no  further."  Only 
we  know  that  it  was  sin  which  was  crushing  Him. 
"  He  was  made  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin,  that 


196  IMAGO   CHRIST/. 


we    might   be    made   the    righteousness    of  God   in 
Him."* 

III. 

The  Results  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  are  the 
principal  theme  of  the  Gospel ;  but  only  a  few  words 
on  the  subject  can  be  said  here. 

I.  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  says  that  "  the 
Author  of  our  salvation  was  made  perfect  through 
suffering  ; "  and,  again,  that  "  He  learned  obedience 
through  the  things  which  He  suffered." 

These  are  mysterious  statements.  Was  He  im- 
perfect that  He  needed  to  be  made  perfect,  or 
disobedient  that  He  required  to  learn  obedience  ? 
They  cannot  surely  mean  that  the  smallest  iota  was 
ever  wanting  to  complete  His  character  in  either 
sense.  No,  but  simply  because  He  was  a  man,  with 
a  human  history  and  a  human  development.  He  had 
to  ascend  a  stair,  so  to  speak,  of  obedience  and  per- 
fection, and,  although  every  step  was  surmounted  at 
its  own  precise  time,  and  He  emerged  upon  it  perfect, 
yet  every  new  step  required  a  new  effort  and,  when 
surmounted,  brought  Him  to  a  higher  stage  of  per- 

*  George  Herbert's  Sacrifice,  with  its  piercing  refrain,  "  Was 
ever  grief  like  Mine  ?"  is  too  long  to  quote.  It  gives  a  detailed 
and  most  moving  enumeration  of  the  sources  of  the  Saviour's 
sufferings. 


CHRIST  AS  A   SUFFERER.  197 


fection  and  into  a  wider  circle  of  obedience  *  We 
see  the  progress  of  this  effort  with  great  clearness 
in  Gethsemane,  where  in  the  first  access  of  suffering 
He  says,  "  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass 
from  Me;"  but  at  the  last  is  able  to  say  in  deep 
tranquillity,  "  O  My  Father,  if  this  cup  may  not  pass 
away  from  Me  except  I  drink  it,  Thy  will  be  done." 
This  was  the  perfection  He  attained  through 
suffering.  It  was  complete  comprehension  of  the  will 
of  God  and  absolute  harmony  with  it.  This  is  our 
perfection  too ;  and  suffering  is  the  great  means 
of  bringing  it  about.  Many  of  us  would  never 
have  thought  much  of  God's  will  unless  we  had 
first  felt  it  as  a  violent  contradiction  of  our  own. 
We  wondered  at  it,  and  rebelled  against  it ;  but, 
when  we  learned,  after  Jesus,  to  say,  "  Not  my  will, 
but  Thine,  be  done,"  we  found  that  this  is  the  secret 
of  life,  and  the  peace  which  passeth  all  understanding 

*  "  His  divine  nature  was  not  unto  Him  in  the  place  of  a  soul, 
nor  did  immediately  operate  the  things  which  He  performed,  as 
some  of  old  vainly  imagined ;  but,  being  a  perfect  man,  His 
rational  soul  was  in  Him  the  immediate  principle  of  all  His 
moral  operations,  even  as  ours  are  in  us.  Now,  in  the  improve- 
ment and  exercise  of  these  faculties  and  powers  of  His  soul.  He 
had  and  made  a  progress  after  the  manner  of  other  men ;  for 
He  was  made  like  unto  us  *  in  all  things,'  yet  without  sin.  In 
their  increase,  enlargement,  and  exercise  there  was  required  a 
progression  in  grace  also ;  and  this  He  had  continually  by  the 
Holy  Ghost  (Luke  ii.  40)." — Owen,  On  the  Holy  S/nrit. 


198  IMAGO   CHRISTL 


came  into  our  souls.  Or  at  least  we  have  seen 
the  process  in  others.  I  daresay  to  some  of  us  the 
most  priceless  of  all  memories  is  that  of  one  of  the 
sons  or  daughters  of  affliction  made  beautiful  by  sub- 
mission to  the  will  of  God.  There  had  perhaps  been 
a  struggle  once;  but  it  was  over;  and  God's  will  was 
accepted,  not  only  with  submission,  but  with  a  holy 
joy  which  glorified  the  whole  being.  And,  as  we 
have  watched  the  pure  and  patient  face  on  the 
pillow,  we  have  felt  that  here  was  one  who  by  sur- 
render had  won  the  victory,  and  we  have  confessed 
that  our  own  life,  with  all  its  storm  and  stress  oi 
activity,  might  be  far  less  valuable  to  either  God 
or  man  than  this  one  lying  bound  and  motionless : 
They  also  serve  who  only  stand  and  wait. 

2.  St.  Paul,  in  one  of  the  most  confidential  pas- 
sages of  his  writings,  tells  of  a  lesson  which  he 
learned  from  suffering.  "  Blessed  be  God,"  he  says, 
"  the  Father  of  mercies  and  God  of  all  comfort,  who 
comforteth  us  in  all  our  tribulation,  that  we  may  be 
able  to  comfort  them  which  are  in  any  trouble  by 
the  comfort  wherewith  we  ourselves  are  comforted  of 
God."  *  He  was  glad  that  he  had  suffered,  because 
he  had  learned  thereby  how  to  deal  with  sufferers. 
How  like  his  big  heart  was  the  sentiment !     And  it 


*  2  Cor.  i.  3,  4. 


CHRIST  AS  A   SUFFERER.  199 

is  profoundly  true.  Suffering  gives  the  power  to 
comfort.  Indeed,  there  is  no  other  way  of  acquiring 
the  art.  To  one  in  deep  trouble  there  is  all  the 
difference  in  the  world  between  the  words  of  the 
heart-whole,  who  have  never  themselves  been  in 
the  fire,  and  the  tender  grasp  and  sympathetic  tones 
of  those  who  have  personally  suffered.  Those,  there- 
fore, who  are  in  the  furnace  of  bereavement  or 
pain  may  take  to  themselves  the  inspiring  sug- 
gestion. Perhaps  this  is  my  apprenticeship  to  the 
sacred  office  of  the  comforter.  Jesus  thus  acquired 
the  art ;  and  the  tried  and  tempted  of  every  gene- 
ration come  to  Him  with  a  confidence  which  is  born 
of  the  knowledge  of  how  He  personally  explored  all 
the  recesses  of  this  kind  of  experience.  *'  We  have 
not  an  high  priest  which  cannot  be  touched  with 
the  feeling  of  our  infirmities,  but  was  in  all  points 
tempted  like  as  we  are,  yet  without  sin." 

3.  The  results  of  the  sufferings  of  Christ  enter 
still  more  deeply  into  His  work  as  the  Saviour.  He 
foresaw  them  Himself  and  spoke  often  about  them. 
"  Except  a  corn  of  wheat,"  He  said,  "  fall  into  the 
ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone  ;  but,  if  it  die,  it 
bringeth  forth  much  fruit ; "  "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up 
from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men  unto  Me  ;  "  "  As 
Moses  lifted  up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even 
so   must  the  Son   of  man   be  lifted  up,  that  whoso- 


IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


ever  believeth  on  Him  should  not' perish,  but  have 
eternal  life." 

When  He  died,  His  cause  seemed  to  be  lost. 
Not  a  single  adherent  was  left  clinging  to  it.  But, 
when  this  eclipse  was  over  and  He  came  forth  from 
the  grave,  His  adherents  awoke  to  discover  that  they 
possessed  in  Him  a  hundred  times  more  than  they 
had  before  been  aware  of;  and  the  new  glory  in 
which  He  shone  was  that  of  the  suffering  Saviour. 

In  every  age  His  sufferings  attract  to  Him  the 
hearts  of  men  ;  for  they  prove  the  boundless  extent 
of  His  love.  His  absolute  unselfishness,  and  His 
loyalty  to  truth  and  principle  even  unto  death. 
Thus  they  have  power  with  men. 

But  they  have  also  power  with  God.  "  He  is  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins  ;  and  not  for  ours  only,  but 
also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world."  Because  He 
died  we  need  not  die.  God  has  put  into  His  hands 
the  forgiveness  of  sins  to  be  bestowed  as  a  free  gift 
on  all  who  receive  Him.  Because  He  humbled 
Himself  God  hath  highly  exalted  Him.  He  is 
seated  now  at  the  right  hand  of  power,  a  Prince  and 
a  Saviour,  and  He  carries  at  His  girdle  the  keys  of 
hell  and  of  death. 


XI. 

CHRIST    AS    A    PHILANTHROPIST 


Matt.  iv.  23,  24.  Mark  vi.  54-56, 

viii.  16,  17.  „      X.  21. 

ix.  35-  36- 
X.  I,  8. 
xi.  4,  5. 

xiv.  13.  14  ;  36.  Luke   x.  12-17. 

XV.  30-32. 
xix.  21. 
xxi.  14. 
XXV.  34-40. 
xxvi.  8-1 1.  John  xiii.  29. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

CHRIST  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST. 

PHILANTHROPIST  may  be  thought  too  light 
-*-  a  name  to  apply  to  Christ.  And  it  must  be 
confessed   that  it  has  a  secular  sound. 

Some  words  are  unfortunate  :  in  common  usage 
they  are  degraded,  and  their  original  meaning  is 
lost.  The  word  "  charity  "  is  a  well-known  instance. 
Originally  meaning  "  love,"  it  had  at  one  time  a 
good  chance  of  being  the  technical  term  for  the  very 
highest  kind  of  love — that  passion  which  is  kindled 
by  union  with  Christ.  This  is  its  meaning  in  the 
thirteenth  of  First  Corinthians,  and  the  authority  of 
so  great  a  chapter  might  have  been  expected  to 
determine  for  ever  the  usage  of  Christendom.  But 
somehow  the  word  missed  this  honour  and  suffered 
degradation  ;  and  now  "  charity  "  is  another  name 
for  "alms."  In  like  manner,  "philanthropy"  has 
been  brought  down  by  usage  to  denote  work  done 
on  behalf  of  men's  bodies  and  temporal  condition, 
as  distinguished  from  work  done  for  their  spiritual 


204  IMAGO   CHRIST/. 


good.  But  originally  it  was  not  so  restricted,  but 
meant  simply  love  to  men. 

In  this  wide  sense  it  is  ascribed  in  Scripture  to 
God  Himself.  Thus,  in  a  well-known  passage  in  the 
Epistle  to  Titus,  the  literal  rendering  is,  "  But 
after  that  the  kindness  and  philanthropy*  of  God 
our  Saviour  appeared,  not  by  works  of  righteous- 
ness which  we  have  done,  but  according  to  His 
mercy  He  saved  us,  by  the  washing  of  regeneration 
and  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  He  shed  on  us 
abundantly  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Saviour."  Here, 
it  will  be  perceived,  philanthropy  denotes,  not  God's 
kindness  to  the  bodies  of  men,  but  His  grace  to  their 
souk  ;  for  it  displayed  itself  in  bestowing  the  washing 
of  regeneration  and  the  renewing  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

It  was  in  the  same  way  that  the  philanthropy  of 
Christ  also  primarily  manifested  itself,  His  work 
and  sufferings  being  gone  through  with  a  view  in 
the  first  place  to  the  salvation  of  men's  souls,  while 
the  relief  of  their  bodily  wants  and  ailments  came  in 
only  in  the  second  place.  Nor  is  it  easy  to  under- 
stand why  work  done  for  the  soul's  sake  should  not 
be  called  philanthropy  as  much  as  work  for  the 
body's.  From  the  Christian  standpoint  at  least  it  is  a 
far  greater  kindness  ;  and  none  can  deny  that  it  often 


•  A.V.,  "love  of  God  our  Saviour  towards  man." 


CHRIST  AS  A   PHILANTHROPIST.  205 

involves  far-reaching  temporal  advantages.  In  both 
foreign  and  home  missions  the  success  of  the  Gospel, 
when  it  saves  men's  souls,  generally  includes,  as  a 
secondary  but  inevitable  accompaniment,  the  sweeping 
away  of  masses  of  cruelty,  poverty  and  ignorance. 

If,  indeed,  the  improvement  of  men's  temporal 
condition  be  dignified  with  the  name  of  philanthropy, 
and  sharply  dissociated  from  spiritual  aims,  the 
name  of  Philanthropist  must  be  denied  to  Jesus. 
He  unfolded  the  utmost  consideration  for  the 
physical  necessities  of  men,  but  always  in  sub- 
ordination to  the  higher  wants  of  the  soul.  His 
love  extended  to  the  whole  man — body  and  soul 
together.  His  love  to  God  and  His  love  to  man 
were  not  two  passions,  but  one.  He  loved  man 
because  He  saw  God  in  him — God's  handiwork, 
God's  image,  the  object  of  God's  love. 

This  must  ever  be  the  pulse  of  a  powerful  philan- 
thropy— to  see  God  in  man  ;  or,  as  Christians  more 
naturally  phrase  it,  to  see  Christ  in  man.  "  Inas- 
much as  ye  did  it  unto  the  least  of  these  ye  did  it 
unto  Me,"  are  Christ's  own  words.  When  I  touch 
the  body  of  a  man,  I  am  touching  what  was  made 
to  be  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  the  humblest 
— ay,  in  the  most  sinful — human  being  we  see  one 
whom  God  loves,  whom  the  Saviour  died  for,  and 
who  may  be  an  heir  of  the  glory  of  Christ.     These 


2o6  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


are   the    deep   wells   of  conviction   out   of  which  a 
strong  philanthropy  is  nourished. 

II. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  an  active  philanthropy  has 
always  been  a  characteristic  of  those  professing  god- 
liness. Jesus  Himself  gave  a  significant  hint  of  this 
in  the  Parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan.  The  priest 
and  the  Levite  passed  the  poor  maltreated  way- 
farer by,  whereas  the  milk  of  human  kindness  was 
found  in  the  common,  unordained  man.  History 
supplies  too  many  instances  to  confirm  the  parable. 
Often  has  the  untrained  heart  of  humanity  noted  and 
branded  a  wrong,  and  the  uncovenanted  hand  sprung 
forth  to  the  relief  of  misery,  when  those  expressly 
called  by  their  offices  to  the  service  have  remained 
silent  and  supine.  It  would  even  seem  sometimes 
as  if  intense  sympathy  with  God  destroyed  sym- 
pathy with  man.  But  one  of  the  greatest  services 
of  Jesus  to  the  world  was  to  harmonize  religion 
and  morality.  He  would  not  allow  neglect  of  man 
to  be  covered  by  zeal  for  God,  but  ever  taught  that 
he  only  loves  God  who  loves  his  brother  also. 

At  present  we  see  these  things,  which  He  joined, 
put  asunder  from  the  other  side.  One  of  the 
novelties  of  our  own  age  is  an  atheistic  philan- 
thropy.      There   are  those  who  do   not  believe   in 


CHRIST  AS  A  PHILANTHROPIST,  207 


God  or  the  God-man,  or  in  the  spiritual  and  eternal 
world,  but  yet  make  a  life  of  sacrifice  for  others  the 
sum  of  morality.  They  confess  that  it  was  Jesus 
who  brought  their  ideal  into  the  world,  and  that  it 
was  established  in  the  convictions  of  mankind  by 
His  authority ;  but  now,  they  maintain,  it  is  able 
to  dispense  with  His  support,  and  they  call  on  us 
to  love  man,  not  for  Christ's  sake,  but  for  his  own. 
They  profess  to  see  in  man  himself,  apart  from  God, 
enough  to  inspire  hourly  and  life-long  effort  on  his 
behalf;  and  in  the  very  brevity  of  his  existence, 
which  comes  completely  to  an  end  at  death,  they 
find  a  pathetic  motive  for  instant  activity,  because 
he  must  be  helped  now  or  never. 

In  so  far  as  any  may  be  induced  by  such  motives 
to  embrace  the  life  of  self-denial  and  really  grapple 
with  the  problems  of  poverty  and  crime.  Christians 
need  not  hesitate  to  wish  them  God-speed.  This  is 
a  wide  world,  affording  room  for  experiments  ;  and 
it  is  a  world  of  such  fearful  misery  that  there  is 
little  need  to  forbid  anyone  who  from  any  motive 
may  feel  inclined  to  lend  it  a  helping  hand.  We 
may  even  recognise  some  to  be  for  Christ  who  believe 
themselves  to  be  against  Him.  But,  where  the  oppo- 
sition is  radical  and  final,  we  are  hardly  justified  either 
by  reason  or  the  facts  of  the  case  in  expecting  very 
much  from  such  a  movement. 


2o8  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


No  doubt  there  is  in  the  natural  heart  a  love  of 
man  for  man,  which,  if  blown  up  by  a  favourable 
wind,  may  now  and  then  do  wonders  ;  and  the  kind- 
ness of  those  who  make  no  profession  of  religion 
sometimes  puts  Christians  to  shame.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  force  which  the  philanthropic  spirit 
has  to  overcome  is  one  of  the  mightiest  in  nature. 
It  is  the  force  of  selfishness — that  universally  dif- 
fused instinct  which  makes  the  individual  seek 
his  own  interest  and  happiness  whatever  comes  of 
others,  which  makes  the  strong  domineer  over  the 
weak  and  the  many  tyrannize  over  the  few.  This 
force  lodges  in  every  human  breast ;  it  pervades 
communities  as  well  as  individuals  ;  it  is  embodied 
in  customs  and  laws  ;  it  evolves  new  forms  of  wrong 
in  every  age  ;  and  many  would  say  that  it  rules  the 
world.  This  is  the  force  which  philanthropy  has 
to  overcome.  It  is  not  easily  dislodged.  It  will 
not  be  conquered  by  fine  words.  There  is  needed, 
to  overcome  it,  a  change  which  only  God  can  work 
by  communicating  to  us  His  own  nature,  which  is 
love. 

'  Is  there  a  reason  in  nature  for  these  hard  hearts?'    O  Lear, 
That  a  reason  out  of  nature  must  turn  them  soft  seems  clear. 

In  the  teaching  of  Christ  man  is  so  dignified  by 
his  connection  with  God  and  by  his  immortal  destiny, 
that  eveiyone  who  really  believes  this  creed  must 


CHRIST  AS  A   PHILANTHROPIST.  209 

feel  himself  condemned  if  he  treats  his  brother  ill. 
But  strip  man,  as  Agnosticism  does,  of  all  the  great- 
ness and  mystery  with  which  Christianity  invests  him 
— cease  to  believe  that  he  comes  from  God,  that 
he  is  akin  to  beings  greater  than  himself  who  care 
for  him,  and  that  his  soul  is  of  infinite  worth  because 
it  has  before  it  an  unending  development — and  how 
long  will  it  be  possible  to  cherish  for  him  the 
reverence  which  wins  him  consideration  and  help  ? 
The  brevity  of  man's  existence  gives  him,  according 
to  the  present  teaching  of  Agnosticism,  a  pathetic 
claim  to  instant  help  ;  but  who  knows  whether  in 
a  society  given  over  to  unbelief  the  argument  might 
not  tell  the  other  way,  the  selfish  heart  reasoning 
that  sufferings  which  must  end  so  soon  do  not 
matter  ? 

It  was  in  the  generation  preceding  the  French 
Revolution  that  atheistic  philanthropy  took  its  rise. 
The  prophets  of  the  time  were  predicting  an  age  of 
peace  and  brotherhood,  when  selfish  passion  should 
disappear  and  cruelty  and  wrong  no  more  vex  the 
world.  But,  when  their  teaching  had  done  its  work, 
its  fruit  appeared  in  the  Revolution  itself,  whose 
unspeakable  inhumanities  afforded  our  race  such 
glances  into  the  dark  depths  of  its  own  nature  as 
can  never  be  forgotten.  It  is  painful  to  recall  that 
Rousseau    himself,  the  most  eloquent  and,   in   some 

14 


210  IMAGO  CHRIST/. 


respects,  the  noblest  apostle  of  the  new  faith,  while 
preaching  universal  brotherhood,  sent  his  own  chil- 
dren one  by  one,  as  they  were  born,  to  the  Foundling 
Hospital,  to  save  himself  the  trouble  and  expense 
of  their  support.  The  Revolution  did  much 
destructive  work  for  which  the  hour  had  come ; 
but  it  was  a  gigantic  proof  that  the  love  necessary 
for  the  work  of  reconstruction  must  be  sought  in 
a  superhuman  source.* 

We  are  living  at  present  in  a  state  of  society  in 
which  there  is  an  after-glow  of  Christian  sentiment 
even  in  minds  that  have  ceased  to  name  the  name 
of  Christ,  which  develops  beautiful  manifestations  ; 
but  those  who  know  human  nature  will  demand  very 
strictly  where  Agnosticism  is  to  get  the  light  and 

*  "  The  practical  paradox,  that  the  age  in  which  the  claims  of 
humanity  were  most  strongly  asserted  is  also  the  age  in  which 
human  nature  was  reduced  to  its  lowest  terms, — that  the  age 
of  tolerance,  philanthropy,  and  enlightenment  was  also  the 
age  of  materialism,  individualism,  and  scepticism, — is  explicable 
only  if  we  remember  that  both  equally  spring  out  of  the  negative 
form  taken  by  the  first  assertion  of  human  freedom. 

"As  the  individual  thus  fell  back  upon  himself,  throwing  off  all 
relations  to  that  which  seemed  to  be  external,  the  specific  religious 
and  social  ideas  of  earlier  days  lost  power  over  him ;  and  their 
place  was  taken  by  the  abstract  idea  of  God  and  the  abstract  idea 
of  the  equality  and  fraternity  of  men, — ideas  which  seemed  to  be 
higher  and  nobler  because  they  were  more  general,  but  which 
for  that  very  reason  were  emptied  of  all  definite  meaning,  as 
well  as  of  all  vital  power  to  hold  in  check  the  lusts  and  greeds 


CHRIST  AS  A   PHILANTHROPIST, 


the  glow  which  will  keep  back  the  on-rushing  force 
of  dark  and  selfish  passion,  when  Christianity  is 
removed.  There  is  a  remnant  of  Christianity  in 
many  who  think  they  have  got  quit  of  it  ;  but  it 
remains  to  be  seen  how  long  this  will  last  when 
cut  off  from  its  source.  A  sheet  of  ice  holding 
on  to  the  edges  of  a  pool  may  maintain  its 
position  even  after  the  water  on  whose  surface  it 
has  been  formed  has  been  drawn  off;  but  it  will 
not  maintain  it  long,  and  it  will  not  bear  much 
weight.  The  facts  with  which  philanthropy  has 
to  deal  are  excessively  disagreeable  to  face,  and 
the  temptations  to  spare  oneself  and  enjoy  the 
world  are  insistent.  Not  long  ago,  when  the  bitter 
cry  of  outcast  London  grew  so  piercing  as  to  attract 

of  man's  lower  nature.  Thus  the  ambitious  but  vague  procla- 
mation of  the  religion  of  nature  and  the  rights  of  man  was  closely 
associated  with  a  theory  which  was  reducing  man  to  a  mere 
animal  individ^ial,  a  mere  subject  of  sensations  and  appetites, 
incapable  either  of  religion  or  of  morality.  For  an  ethics  which  is 
more  than  a  word,  and  a  religion  which  is  more  than  an  aspiration, 
imply  definite  relations  of  men  to  each  other  and  to  God,  and  all 
such  relations  were  now  rejected  as  inconsistent  with  the  freedom 
of  the  individual.  The  French  Revolution  was  the  practical 
demonstration  that  the  mere  general  idea  of  religion  is  not  a 
religion,  and  that  the  mere  general  idea  of  a  social  unity  is  not 
a  state  ;  but  that  such  abstractions,  inspiring  as  they  may  be  as 
weapons  of  attack  upon  the  old  system,  leave  nothing  behind 
to  build  up  the  new  one,  except  the  unchained  passions  of  the 
natural  man." — E.  Caird,  Hegel,  pp.  19,  20. 


212  IMAGO   CHRIS  11. 


universal  attention,  the  heart  of  the  West  End  was 
stirred,  and  the  sons  and  daughters  of  fashion  left 
their  frivolities  to  go  "  slumming,"  as  it  was  called,  in 
the  East  End.  But  already,  I  am  told,  this  is  nearly 
all  over ;  and  the  work  of  relieving  the  wretched 
is  left,  for  the  most  part,  to  the  humble  followers 
of  Christ,  who  were  at  it  before.  If  strict  inquiry 
were  made,  I  imagine  it  would  be  found  that  there 
are  very  few  philanthropic  institutions  of  any  dimen- 
sions in  our  midst  that  would  not  go  down  if  they 
were  deprived  of  the  support  of  those  who  give 
not  only  for  the  sake  of  man,  but  for  the  sake  of 
the  Saviour  who  has  redeemed  thera. 

III. 

The  actual  forms  in  which  the  philanthropy  of 
Christ    manifested    itself  were   mainly   two. 

One  of  these  was  the  giving  of  alms  to  the  poor. 
This  was,  it  is  evident,  a  constant  habit  of  His — 
so  much  so,  that  when,  on  the  night  of  the  betrayal, 
He  said  to  Judas,  who  had  the  bag,  "  That  thou 
doest  do  quickly,"  the  rest  of  the  disciples  thought 
that  the  message  the  betrayer  had  received  was  to 
visit  and  relieve  with  a  gift  of  money  someone 
in  distress.  How  the  bag  was  filled  we  do  not 
know  very  well.  Jesus  may  have  put  into  it 
savings  of  His  own  which   He   had    laid    by,  when 


CHRIST  AS  A    PHILANTHROPIST.  213 

working  as  a  carpenter,  in  view  of  the  life  He  had 
in  prospect.  The  Twelve  may  have  done  the  same ; 
and  the  holy  women  who  followed  Him  contributed 
to  it.  But  there  is  no  reason  to  think  that  it  was 
ever  very  full,  but  the  contrary.  When  Jesus  gave 
alms,  it  was  the  poor  giving  to  the  poor  ;  yet  He 
kept  up   the  practice  to  the  very  end. 

There  have  been  good  men  who  have  seen  so 
much  peril  in  this  form  of  philanthropy  that  they 
have  pronounced  against  it  altogether ;  but  the 
example  of  Jesus  supports  it.  There  can  be  no 
doubt,  however,  that  it  requires  caution  and  con- 
sideration. To  give  to  the  professional  beggar 
generally  does  more  harm  than  good,  and  too  facile 
yielding  to  his  importunities  is  to  be  accounted  a 
vice  rather  than  a  virtue.*  But  there  are  deserving 
poor.  They  are  known  to  those  whose  work  lies 
among  them  ;  and  the  wealthy  might  with  advantage 
make  these  workers  their  almoners.  But  it  is  not 
difficult  to  find  them  out,  if  we  are  willing  to  go 
on  our  own  feet  into  the  abodes  of  poverty.  To 
many,  indeed,  this  is  an  unexplored  world,  though 
it  is  at  their  doors.  But  it  is  not  difficult  to  discover. 
Once   enter  it  with  a  loving  heart,  and  progress  is 

*  Compare  Dorner,  Christliche  Sittenlehre,  p.  469  :  "There 
is  something  holy  in  poverty.  The  poor  are  the  altar  of  the 
Church.     But  there  is  no  holiness  in  beggary." 


214  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


easy.  You  will  find  in  it  honest  men,  on  whom 
illness  or  temporary  want  of  work  has  fallen,  and 
whom  a  gift  may  help  honourably  over  the  time  of 
need.  You  will  find  the  aged,  who  have  fought 
the  battle  manfully,  but  now  can  fight  no  more ; 
and  surely  it  is  an  honour  to  have  a  few  of  these 
dependent  on  our  bounty.  Among  the  poorest 
there  are  princes  of  God,  who  at  a  future  stage  of 
existence  may  be  in  a  position  to  patronise  us.* 

The  other  form  of  His  philanthropy  was  healing. 
Because  He  healed  by  miracle  we  naturally  think  of 
it  as  easily  done  ;  but  perhaps  it  was  more  an  effort 
than  we  suppose.  On  one  occasion,  when  a  woman 
touched  Him  and  was  healed,  without  wishing  Him 
to  know,  He  did  know,  because,  it  is  said,  He 
perceived  that  virtue  had  gone  out  of  Him.  And 
there  are  other  indications  that  these  cures  must  have 
cost  Him  an  expenditure  of  nervous  sympathy  and 

*  "Those  are  ripe  for  charity  who  are  withered  by  age  or 
impotency, — especially  if  maimed  in  following  their  calling ; 
for  such  are  industry's  martyrs,  at  least  her  confessors.  Add  to 
these  those  that  with  diligence  fight  against  poverty,  though 
neither  conquer  till  death  make  it  a  drawn  battle.  Expect  not, 
but  prevent,  their  craving  of  thee ;  for  God  forbid  the  heavens 
should  never  rain  till  the  earth  first  opens  her  mouth,  seeing 
some  grounds  will  sooner  burn  than  chap  1 

"The  House  of  Correction  is  the  fittest  hospital  for  those 
cripples  whose  legs  are  lame  through  their  own  laziness." — 
Fuller,  The  Holy  and  Profane  State. 


CHRIST  AS  A   PHILANTHROPIST.  215 

emotion  which  imparts  a  deep  pathos  to  the  saying 
of  St.  Matthew,  "  Himself  took  our  infirmities  and 
bare  our  sicknesses."  But,  in  any  case,  the  work 
of  healing  was  a  congenial  one  in  which  His  loving 
nature  rejoiced  ;  and  He  was  never  more  at  home 
than  in  a  crowd  composed  of  persons  suffering  from 
every  kind  of  disease  and  infirmity  of  body  and 
mind,  amongst  whom  He  moved  benignly,  touching 
one  here  into  health,  speaking  to  another  the  word 
of  power,  and  letting  glances  of  kindness  and  good 
cheer  fall  on  all.  The  joy  radiated  far  and  wide, 
when  the  father  returned  to  his  home  to  be  no  longer 
its  burden  but  its  bread-winner,  the  son  to  be  no 
more  a  care  but  a  pride,  the  mother  to  resume  the 
place  and  the  work  from  which  illness  had  dislodged 
her.  The  best  help  to  the  poor  and  needy  is  that 
which  enables  them  to  help  themselves  ;  and  this 
was  the  kind  of  help  which  Jesus  gave  by  His 
miracles. 

We  of  course  do  not  possess  miraculous  powers  ; 
but  in  their  place  we  have  others,  which  may  be  put 
to  the  like  uses  and  are  capable  of  working  wonders 
as  far  beyond  what  could  be  achieved  in  His  day 
through  natural  causes  as  His  miracles  are  beyond  us. 

We  possess,  for  instance,  the  power  of  science, 
There  is  no  form  of  philanthropy  perhaps  more 
Christ-h'ke   than   that  which   puts  at  the  disposal  of 


2i6  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


the  poor  and  the  ignorant  first-rate  medical  skill. 
Our  infirmaries  and  dispensaries  are  the  con- 
tinuation of  Christ's  healing  activity.  Medical 
missionaries  carry  to  the  heathen  a  commission 
singularly  like  that  with  which  Jesus  sent  forth  the 
apostles.  The  Church  is  beginning  to  employ 
trained  nurses  in  mission  work.  And  in  every  part 
of  the  country  there  are  medical  men  who  are  daily 
rendering  to  the  poorest  the  best  efforts  of  their 
art,  for  which  they  receive  little  or  no  remuneration, 
but  which  they  give  with  even  greater  inward  de- 
light than  they  feel  in  working  for  their  best-paying 
patients,  because  they  are  serving  Christ  in  His 
members. 

There  is  also  the  power  of  politics.  Of  this 
the  early  Christians  had  no  control  ;  they  had  no 
influence  whatever  in  the  State,  But  this  power  is 
now  in  the  hands  of  all.  The  work  of  a  Wilber- 
force  or  a  Shaftesbury  shows  what  use  can  be  made 
of  it  in  putting  an  end  to  wrong  and  misery.  It 
enables  us  to  ascend  the  stream  and  cut  great  evils 
off  at  their  sources.  Christian  men  are  only  learn- 
ing how  to  use  it  yet  ;  some  are  even  shy  of  touch- 
ing it,  as  if  it  were  unholy.  But  they  will  yet  prize 
it  as  one  of  the  most  powerful  instruments  put  by 
Providence  into  their  hands  for  doing  good.  We 
shall  not  always  be  content  with  a  philanthropy  that 


CHRIST  AS  A   PHILAATHROPIS  217 

picks   up   the  victims  as  they  fly  broken   from  the 
wheel  of  oppression  ;  we  will  stop  the  wheel  itself.* 

These  are  only  specimens  of  the  powers  with 
which  Christian  philanthropy  is  arming  itself;  and 
the  strange  word  of  Christ  is  coming  true,  "  Verily, 
verily,  I  say  unto  you,  he  that  believeth  on  Me,  the 
works  that  I  do  shall  he  do  also  ;  and  greater  works 
shall  he  do,  because  I  go  unto  My  Fatiier." 


IV. 

There  is  nothing  more  certain  than  that  our  Lord 
left  this  part  of  His  work  as  an  example  to  His 
followers.  In  the  distribution  of  alms  from  the 
common  bag  He  associated  the  Twelve  with  Him- 
self, giving  the  bag  in   charge  to  one  of  them.     To 

*  "The  obligation  of  philanthropy  is  for  all  ages,  but  if  we 
consider  the  particular  modes  of  philanthropy  which  Christ  pre- 
scribed to  His  followers,  we  shall  find  that  they  were  suggested 
by  the  special  conditions  of  that  age.  The  same  spirit  of  love 
which  dictated  them,  working  in  this  age  upon  the  same  pro- 
blems, would  find  them  utterly  insufficient.  No  man  who  loves 
his  kind  can  in  these  days  rest  content  with  waiting  as  a  servant 
upon  human  misery,  when  it  is  in  so  many  cases  possible  to 
anticipate  and  avert  it.  Prevention  is  better  than  cure,  and  it  is 
now  clear  to  all  that  a  large  part  of  human  suffering  is  pre- 
ventible  by  improved  social  arrangements.  Charity  will  now,  if 
it  be  genuine,  fix  upon  this  enterprise  as  greater,  more  widely 
and  permanently  beneficial,  and  therefore  more  Christian  than 
the  other.     It  will  not,  indeed,  neglect  the  lower  task  of  relieving 


2i8  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


one  who  wished  to  join  the  company  of  those  who 
followed  Him  He  said,  "  Go  and  sell  all  that  thou 
hast  and  give  to  the  poor,  and  thou  shalt  have 
treasure  in  heaven,  and  come  and  follow  Me  ;  "  and 
in  other  cases  He  may  have  imposed  the  same  con- 
dition of  discipleship.  He  associated  the  Twelve 
with  Himself  in  like  manner  in  the  work  of  healing. 
"  Heal  the  sick,"  He  said,  as  He  sent  them  forth, 
"  cleanse  the  lepers,  raise  the  dead,  cast  out  devils : 
freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give." 

But  the  most  impressive  evidence  of  all  is  His 
great  description  of  the  last  judgment,  where  the 
King  says  to  those  on  His  right  hand,  "  Come,  ye 
blessed  of  My  Father,  inherit  the  kingdom  prepared 

and  consoling  those  who,  whether  through  the  errors  and  un- 
skilful arrangements  of  society  or  through  causes  not  yet  pre- 
ventible,  have  actually  fallen  into  calamity.  .  .  .  But  when  it 
has  done  all  which  the  New  Testament  enjoins,  it  will  feel  that 
its  task  is  not  half  fulfilled.  When  the  sick  man  has  been  visited 
and  everything  done  which  skill  and  assiduity  can  do  to  cure 
him,  modern  charity  will  go  on  to  consider  the  causes  of  his 
malady,  what  noxious  influence  besetting  his  life,  what  contempt 
of  the  laws  of  health  in  his  diet  or  habits,  may  have  caused  it, 
and  then  to  inquire  whether  others  incur  the  same  dangers  and 
may  be  warned  in  time.  When  the  starving  man  has  been 
relieved,  modern  charity  inquires  whether  any  fault  in  the  social 
system  deprived  him  of  his  share  of  nature's  bounty,  any  unjust 
advantage  taken  by  the  strong  over  the  weak,  any  rudeness  or 
want  of  culture  in  himself  wrecking  his  virtue  and  his  habits  of 
thrift.'* — Ecce  Homo, 


CHRIST  AS  A   PHILANTHROPIST.  219 

for  you  from  the  foundation  of  the  world  :  for  I  was 
an  hungered,  and  ye  gave  Me  meat  ;  I  was  thirsty, 
and  ye  gave  Me  drink  ;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took 
Me  in  ;  naked,  and  ye  clothed  Me  ;  I  was  sick,  and  ye 
visited  Me  ;  I  was  in  prison,  and  ye  came  unto  Me  ;  " 
but  to  those  on  His  left  hand,  "  Depart  from  Me,  ye 
cursed,  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared  for  the  devil 
and  his  angels  :  for  I  was  an  hungered,  and  ye  gave 
Me  no  meat  ;  I  was  thirsty,  and  ye  gave  Me  no 
drink  ;  I  was  a  stranger,  and  ye  took  Me  not  in  ; 
naked,  and  ye  clothed  Me  not ;  sick,  and  in  prison, 
and  ye  visited  Me  not." 

Are  there  many  Christians  who  realise  that  this 
is  the  test  by  which  at  the  final  review  their 
Christianity  is  to  be  tried  ?  Do  the  habits  of 
Christendom  accord  with  our  Lord's  plainest  teach- 
ing ?  There  are,  indeed,  a  few  who  follow  Him 
along  this  path.  And,  though  it  is  a  path  of  self- 
denial,  they  find  it  one  of  flowers  ;  for  on  the  way 
to  the  homes  of  the  destitute  they  see  the  marks 
of  His  footsteps,  and,  in  handling  the  bodies  of 
the  bedridden  and  suffering,  their  fingers  touch 
His  hands  and  His  side.  Thus,  while  losing  their 
life,  they  find  it.  But  is  tjiis  a  practice  of  the 
average  Christian  "i  Do  his  feet  know  the  way  to 
the  homes  of  the  blind,  the  tortured  and  the  friend- 
less ?     There   is   a  day  coming  when    many  of  us 


i20  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


shall  wish  that  every  penny  we  have  given  to 
the  poor  had  been  a  pound  ;  when  those  who  have 
begged  from  us  on  behalf  of  the  suffering  and  the 
ignorant,  but  of  whose  importunities  we  have  often 
complained,  will  be  accounted  our  best  benefactors  ; 
and  when  it  will  be  more  valuable  to  us  to  re- 
member one  hour  passed  in  the  garret  of  the  poor 
than  a  hundred  spent  at  the  tables  of  the  rich. 
*'  Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the 
least  of  these  My  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto 
Me." 


XII. 

CHRIST   AS   A  WINNER   OF    SOULS 


Matt.  i.  21.  John  ii.  23. 

„  iv.  iS-22.  „  iii. 

„  ix.  10-13.  if  iv. 

M  vii.  31,  37. 

Luke  iv.  43.  „  ix.  35-38. 

„  vii.  36-50.  „  X.  II. 

„  XV.  „  xii.  21,  22. 

„  xix.  l-io  ;  41,  42. 

„  xxii.  39-43. 


CHAPTER    XII. 
CHRIST    AS    A    WINNER    OF    SOULS. 

I. 

T  HAVE  heard  that  one  of  the  diamond-fields 
of  South  Africa  was  discovered  on  this  wise. 
A  traveller  one  day  entered  the  valley  and  drew 
near  to  a  settler's  door,  at  which  a  boy  was  amusing 
himself  by  throwing  stones.  One  of  the  stones  fell 
at  the  stranger's  feet,  who  picked  it  up  and  was  in 
the  act  of  laughingly  returning  it,  when  something 
flashed  from  it  which  stopped  his  hand  and  made 
his  heart  beat  fast.  It  was  a  diamond.  The  child 
was  playing  with  it  as  a  common  stone ,  the 
peasant's  foot  had  spurned  it ;  the  cart-wheel  had 
crushed  it ;  till  the  man  who  knew  saw  it  and 
recognised  its  value. 

This  story  comes  often  to  my  mind  when  I  am 
thinking  of  the  soul.  Was  it  not  the  same  careless 
treatment  the  soul  was  receiving  when  Jesus  arrived 
in  the  world  and  discovered  it  .■*  A  harlot's  soul, 
sunk    in    the    mud    and    filth    of   iniquity  !    why    a 


224  IMAGO   CHRIST/. 


Pharisee  would  not  stain  his  fingers  to  find  it. 
A  child's  soul  !  the  scribes  used  to  discuss  in  their 
schools  whether  or  not  a  child  had  a  soul  at  all. 

Even  yet  there  is  nothing  else  of  less  account 
in  the  eyes  of  the  majority  than  the  soul.  It  is 
flung  about,  it  is  ignored,  it  is  crushed  by  the  care- 
less foot,  just  as  the  undiscovered  diamond  was. 
A  new  soul,  fresh  out  of  eternity,  enters  an  earthly 
home  ;  but  in  most  cases  the  family  sin  on  as  if 
it  were  not  there  ;  they  are  visited  by  no  com- 
punctions lest  it  should  be  corrupted  by  their 
example.  By-and-bye  it  goes  out  into  the  world 
and  is  brought  into  contact  with  the  multifarious 
influences  of  social  life  ;  but  here  there  is,  if  possible, 
still  less  sense  of  its  value ;  there  is  no  fear  of 
misleading  it,  no  reverence  for  its  high  origin  or 
its  solemn  destiny.  If  it  remains  undeveloped,  or 
if  it  is  lost  and  rushes  unprepared  upon  its  doom, 
the  majority  heed  not ;  its  fate  is  no  business  of 
theirs,  and  they  do  not  even  remember  that  it 
exists. 

Our  common  language  betrays  that  to  the 
majority  the  soul  is  as  undiscovered  as  the  diamond 
was  to  the  settler  and  his  children.  When  the 
employes  are  pouring  out  of  a  factory  at  the  meal 
hour,  we  say,  What  a  number  of  hands  1  Hands ! 
not  souls  ;  as  if  the  body  and   the  power  of  work  in 


CHRIST  AS  A    WIiVNER   OF  SOULS.  225 

it  were  the  whole  of  the  man.  Even  the  Church 
speaks  of  the  population  of  the  East  End  as  the 
masses  ;  as  if  they  only  counted  in  the  bulk,  and 
were  not  separable  into  units,  in  each  of  which  there 
is  that  which  touches  heaven  above  and  hell  be- 
neath. As  we  watch  the  multitude  pouring  along 
a  crowded  street,  what  is  it  we  see  1  Only  so  many 
figures  interesting  or  uninteresting  for  their  looks, 
their  dress  and  the  like  ;  or  embodied  spirits,  that 
have  come  from   God   and   are  going  to  God  ? 

If  we  have  the  power  of  seeing  the  latter,  we 
have  learned  it  from  Christ.  He  lifted  the  soul 
up  out  of  the  mud  and  from  among  the  trampling 
feet,  and  said,  Behold  the  diamond  !  "  What  shall 
it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose 
his  own  soul  .-^  " 

Mankind  believed,  indeed,  in  the  souls  of  the 
great — the  soul  that  could  distinguish  itself  by 
force  or  wisdom — the  soul  of  Socrates,  the  soul 
of  Ccesar.*  But  Jesus  taught  it  to  believe  in  the 
common  soul — the  soul  of  a  child,  of  a  woman, 
nay,  of  a  publican  or  a  sinner.  This  is  His 
immortal  discovery.      In  every  child  of  Adam    He 

*  "  Contempt  of  men  is  a  ground-feature  of  heathenism, 
which  goes  side  by  side  with  the  deification  of  men,  and  we  can 
trace  this  twofold  extreme  down  to  the  heathenism  of  our  own 
days."' — Marte>.sen,  Christian  EtJiics. 

15 


226  IMAGO   CHRISTl. 


perceived  the  diamond.  The  rags  of  the  beggar 
could  not  hide  it  from  His  eyes,  nor  the  black  skin 
of  the  savage,  nor  even  the  crimes  of  the  evil-doer. 
It  was  true  the  soul  was  lost  sunk  deep  in 
ignorance  and  unrighteousness.  But  this  only  made 
it  the  more  interesting  ;  it  only  stimulated  His 
desire  to  rescue  and  cleanse  it,  and  set  it  where 
it  might  shine.  To  a  physician  who  are  interest- 
ing ?  Not  they  that  are  whole,  but  they  who  are 
sick  ;  and  among  all  his  patients  the  most  absorb- 
ing case  is  that  which  most  needs  his  help.  It 
haunts  him  day  and  night  ;  it  runs  away  with 
nine-tenths  of  his  thinking  ;  he  visits  it  thrice  a 
day  ;  and,  if  the  disease  is  overcome,  this  case  is 
the  triumph  of  his  art.  So  Jesus  taught,  explaining 
His  own  feelings  and  conduct. 

Yet  there  is  a  mystery  in  this  estimate  of  the 
soul.  Is  it  really  true  that  one  soul — that  of 
the  thief  lying  to-day  in  prison  or  of  harlequin 
who  was  grinning  last  night  in  the  circus — is  more 
precious  than  the  gold  of  California  or  the  diamonds 
of  Golconda  ?  To  multitudes,  if  they  would  confess 
the  truth,  such  an  assertion  has  no  meaning.  Yet  it 
was  made  by  Him  who,  while  living  here  below  in 
time,  lived  also  aloft  in  eternity  and  could  look 
clearly  along  the  track  of  the  future,  seeing  all  that 
the  soul  can  become — both  the  splendid  possibilities 


CHRIST  AS  A    WINNER   OF  SOULS.  227 

it    may  develop   and    the   depths  to  which   it  may 
fall. 

This  unique  estimate  of  the  soul  was  the  secret 
spring  of  His  work  as  a  soul-winner  ;  and  it  is  this 
faith,  kindling  mind  and  heart,  which  makes  the  soul- 
winner  always.  A  man  has  no  claim  to  this  office 
under  any  of  its  forms  if  he  does  not  believe  in  the 
soul  more  than  in  money,  or  physique,  or  success,  or 
any  earthly  thing,  and  unless  the  saving  of  a  single 
soul  would  be  to  him  a  greater  prize  than  all  Greek 
and   Roman  fame.* 

II. 
There    is    another     motive     perhaps     even    more 
essential.      It  is   the   sense   of  a    divine   call.     The 

*  "  There  is  one  power  which  lies  at  the  bottom  of  all  success 
in  preaching  ;  its  influence  is  essential  everywhere ;  without  its 
presence  we  cannot  imagine  a  man  as  making  a  minister  of  the 
Gospel  in  the  largest  sense.  Under  its  compulsion  a  man  becomes 
a  preacher,  and  every  sermon  he  preaches  is  more  or  less  shaped 
by  its  presence.  That  power  is  the  value  of  the  human  soul  felt 
by  the  preacher,  furnishing  the  motive  and  inspiration  of  all  his 
work.  .  .  .  The  other  motives  for  the  minister's  work  seem  to  mc 
to  stand  around  this  great  central  motive  as  the  staff-officers 
stand  about  the  general.  They  need  him,  they  execute  his  will ; 
but  he  is  not  dependent  on  them  as  they  are  on  him.  Any  one  of 
them  might  fall  away,  and  he  could  fight  the  battle  out  without 
him.  .  .  .  Pleasure  of  work ;  delight  in  the  exercise  of  power ; 
love  of  God's  truth ;  the  love  of  study  ;  gratification  in  feeling  our 
life  touch  other  lives ;  the  perception  of  order ;  love  of  regulai 
movement;  insight  into  the  lives  and  ways  of  men;  and,  lastly, 


228  IMAGO   CHRIST/. 


soul-winner  must  be  conscious  that  he  is  doing  God's 
work,  and  that  it  is  God's  message  he  bears  to  men. 
Enthusiasm  for  humanity  is  a  noble  passion  and 
sheds  a  beautiful  glow  over  the  first  efforts  of  an 
unselfish  life.  But  it  is  hardly  stern  enough  for  the 
uses  of  the  world.  There  come  hours  of  despair 
when  men  seem  hardly  worth  our  devotion.  They 
are  so  base  and  ungrateful,  and  our  best  efforts  are 
able  to  change  them  so  little,  that  the  temptation 
is  strong  to  throw  up  the  thankless  task.  Those  for 
whom  we  are  sacrificing  ourselves  take  all  we  can  do 
as  a  matter  of  course  ;  they  pass  us  by  unnoticed,  or 
turn  and  rend  us,  as  if  we  were  their  enemies.  Why 
should  we  continue  to  press  our  gifts  on  those  who 
do  not  want  them  ?  Worse  still  is  the  sickening 
consciousness  that  we  have  but  little  to  give : 
perhaps  we  have  mistaken  our  vocation  ;  it  is  a 
world  out  of  joint,  but  were  we  born  to  put  it  right } 
This  is  where  a  sterner  motive  is  needed  than  love 
of  men  ;   our  retreating  zeal  requires  to  be  rallied  by 

the  pleasure  of  seeing  right  ideas  replace  wrong  ideas — these 
are  the  noble  members  of  the  staff  of  the  great  general.  But  how 
the  motive  which  they  serve  towers  above  them  all ! "  From  a 
noble  lecture  on  the  value  of  the  soul,  with  which  Dr.  Phillips 
Brooks  closes  his  Yale  Lectures  on  Preaching.  The  locus 
classicus,  however,  on  this  subject  is  Baxter's  Reformed  Pastor, 
through  which  the  thought  of  the  danger  and  the  preciousness  ot 
the  soul  sounds  like  the  bell  of  eternity. 


CHRIST  AS  A    WIA'NER    OF  SOULS.  229 

the  command  of  God.  It  is  His  work  ;  these  souls 
are  His  ;  He  has  committed  them  to  our  care  ;  and 
at  the  judgment-seat  He  will  demand  an  account 
of  them. 

All  prophets  and  apostles  who  have  dealt  with 
men  for  God  have  been  driven  on  by  this  impulse, 
which  has  recovered  them  in  hours  of  weakness  and 
enabled  them  to  face  the  opposition  of  the  world. 
Most  of  them  have  experienced  a  crisis  in  which 
this  call  has  come  and  clearly  determined  their 
life-work.  It  came  to  Moses  in  the  wilderness 
and  drove  him  into  public  life  in  spite  of  strong 
resistance  ;  and  it  bore  him  through  the  un- 
paralleled trials  of  his  subsequent  career.  It  came 
to  Isaiah  in  a  vision  which  coloured  all  his  after 
history ;  and  it  revolutionised  St.  Paul's  life  in  an 
hour.  Jeremiah  felt  the  divine  message  like  a 
sword  in  his  bones  and  like  a  fire  which  consumed 
him  till  he  cast  it  forth  among  the  people.* 

This  was  one  of  the  strongest  motives  of  Christ's 
life  also.  It  gave  to  it  its  irresistible  momentum  ; 
it  strengthened  Him  in  the  face  of  opposition  ;  it 
rescued   Him    from   the   dark  hour  of  despair.      He 

*  The  difficult  question  of  what  constitutes  a  call  to  the 
ministry  is  discussed  with  great  good  sense  in  Blaikie's  For  the 
Work  of  the  Ministry,  and  with  racy  wisdom  in  Spurgeon's 
Lectt<res  to  Mv  Students. 


230  IMAGO    CHRISTI. 


was  never  weary  of  asserting  that  the  works  He  did 
were  not  His  own,  but  God's  ;  and  that  so  were  the 
words  He  spoke.  His  comfort  was  that  every  step 
He    took   was   in    fulfilment  of  the  divine  will. 

But  He  had  no  hour  at  which  His  life  was 
broken  in  twain  by  a  moral  crisis,  and  the  task  of 
living  for  others  imposed  on  Him.  This  vocation 
was  inwoven  with  the  very  texture  of  His  being  ; 
the  love  of  men  was  as  native  to  His  heart  as  it 
is  to  the  nature  of  God  ;  the  salvation  of  men  was 
the  primary  passion  of  His  soul  ;  and,  though  He 
claimed  that  His  works  and  words  were  given  Him 
by  God,  yet  so  identified  were  His  own  deepest 
wishes  with  the  purposes  of  the  divine  love,  that 
He  could   say,   "  land    My   Father   are  one." 

HI. 

The  name  of  Soul-winner  which  I  have  ventured 
to  apply  to  the  Saviour  is  a  scriptural  one  ;  for  we 
read  in  Scripture  that  "  he  that  winneth  souls  is 
wise."  It  is  a  word  which  indicates  the  delicacy 
and  the  difficulty  of  the  work  of  seeking  the  lost. 
This  work  requires  tact  and  skill  in  him  who  under- 
takes it.  Souls  have  to  be  woii ;  and  this  requires 
a  winning  way — a  kind  of  winsomeness — in  those 
who    seek   them. 

Jesus   Himself  did   not   use    this   word  ;  but    He 


CHRIST  AS  A    WINNER   OF  SOULS.  231 

made  use  of  one  suggestive  of  the  same  truth. 
When  calh'ng  His  disciples  to  take  part  with  Him  in 
this  work,  He  said  to  them,  "  Follow  Me,  and  I  will 
make  you  fishers  of  men,"  Every  fisher  with  the 
rod  knows  how  much  knowledge  of  the  weather  and 
the  water,  how  much  judgment,  keenness  of  eye 
and  lightness  of  touch  fishing  requires.  Probably 
it  was  of  net-fishing  Christ  was  thinking  ;  but  this 
requires  no  less  experience,  alertness,  tact  and 
perseverance. 

All  these  qualities  are  needed  in  winning  souls. 
Jesus  was  the  perfect  model  of  this  art  ;  and  the 
bi^st  guide  to  its  acquisition  is  to  watch  His  methods 

I.  He  made  use  of  His  miracles  as  stepping-stones 
to  reach  the  soul.  All  the  acts  of  kindness  and  mercy 
described  in  the  foregoing  chapter  were  introductions 
to  the  development  of  the  higher  and  more  spiritual 
aims  which  were  always  in  His  mind.  I  do  not  say 
that  this  was  their  only  purpose ;  for  His  miracles  had 
many  meanings.  But  it  was  one  of  them :  they  often 
opened  the  door  to  spiritual  dealing  which  could  not 
have  taken  place  without  them.  For  example,  in 
the  ninth  of  St.  John  we  read  of  a  man  whom  He 
cured  of  blindness,  without  making  Himself  known 
to  him.  The  man  conceived  a  passion  of  gratitude 
and  went  about  praising  and  championing  his  un- 
known friend  ;  till  Jesus,  meeting  him,  made  Himself 


232  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


known,  when  the  man  at  once  exclaimed,  "Lord,  I 
believe,"  and  worshipped  Him.  This  is  a  clear  case 
in  which  the  bodily  cure  was  a  prelude  to  the  cure 
of  the  blindness  of  the  soul.  In  numberless  other 
instances  it  must  have  served  the  same  end  ;  and,  if 
it  be  remembered  that  the  miracles  were  often  nearly 
as  valuable  to  the  relatives  of  those  who  were  healed 
as  to  themselves,  it  will  be  understood  how  many 
minds  must  have  been  conciliated  by  this  means  to  a 
favourable  hearing  of  His  divine  message. 

Philanthropy  may  serve  us  also  as  a  stepping- 
stone  to  higher  work.  Kindness  opens  hearts  ;  and 
through  the  open  door  salvation  may  be  introduced. 
There  lurks  danger,  indeed,  on  either  hand  ;  for,  on 
the  one  hand,  charity  may  be  robbed  of  all  true 
human  kindliness  by  the  proselytizer's  zeal,  and,  on 
the  other,  a  hypocritical  pretence  of  piety  may  be 
put  on  by  the  receiver  of  temporal  advantages,  as  a 
payment  for  the  accepted  dole.  But,  whilst  these 
dangers  need  to  be  avoided,  the  principle  itself  has 
the  highest  authority,  and  in  earnest  Christian  work 
it  is  receiving  at  present  many  happy  applications. 
Zeal  for  the  soul  often  awakens  consideration  for  the 
body  also,  and  produces  deeds  which  smell  as  sweetly 
to  the  Saviour  of  men  as  did  the  ointment  with 
which  Mary  anointed   Him. 

2.  Preaching  was  one  of  the  principal  means  by 


CHRIST  AS  A    WINNER   OF  SOULS.  233 


which  Christ  sought  the  lost.  As  a  separate  chapter 
occurs  below  on  Jesus  as  a  Preacher,  the  subject 
need  not  here  be  dwelt  upon.  Only  let  it  be  noted 
how  attractive  His  preaching  was — how  well  fitted 
to  win  men.  He  invested  the  truth  with  every 
charm  of  parable  and  illustration,  though  He  well 
knew  that  such  gay  clothing  is  not  truth's  native 
garb.  Truth  is  plain  and  simple  ;  and  those  who 
know  it  love  to  have  it  so.  But  Jesus  had  to  deal 
with  those  to  whom  in  itself  it  had  no  attraction  ; 
and  therefore  He  administered  it  to  them  as  they 
were  able  to  bear  it,  trusting  that,  if  once  it  had 
won  them  and  they  had  learned  its  worth,  they 
would  welcome  it  in  any  garb. 

So  powerful  a  means  of  winning  men  to  God  is 
preaching  still,  that  it  is  no  wonder  that  the  desire 
to  preach  is  often  born  at  the  same  time  as  the 
desire  of  saving  souls  ;  but  perhaps  it  is  a  wonder 
that  of  those  who  preach  so  few  exert  themselves,  as 
Jesus  did,  to  attract  men  by  presenting  their  message 
in  beautiful  and  winsome  forms.* 

3.  Of  course  only  a  small  proportion  of  those  who 
burn  to  save  the  lost  can  become  preachers ;  but  with 

•  "Man  irrt  sich  erstaunlich,  wenn  man  meint,  dass,  was 
gerade  so  klingt,  wie  das  Volk  in  den  Arbeitsstuuden  selbst 
redet,  von  diesem  am  liebsten  gehort  werde.  Sie  haben  den 
Sonntagsrock  angezogen,  als  sie  in  die  Kirche  gegangen  sind ; 


234  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


His  preaching  Jesus  combined  another  method,  which 
it  is  more  open  to  all  to  imitate — the  method  of 
conversation.  We  have  illustrations  of  His  use  of 
this  method  in  His  conversation  with  Nicodemus 
and  His  talk  at  the  well  with  the  woman  of  Samaria, 
which  are  models,  intended  to  serve  to  all  time,  of 
this  mode  of  winning  souls.  If  the  two  cases  be 
compared  together,  it  will  be  seen  with  what  perfect 
tact  He  adapted  Himself  to  the  circumstances  of  His 
interlocutors,  and  how  naturally,  whilst  meeting  them 
on  their  own  ground,  He  led  the  conversation  to  the 
point  He  aimed  at,  always  descending  full  upon  the 
conscience. 

This  is  a  difficult  art  ;  for  religious  conversation 
must  be  natural — it  must  well  up  out  of  a  heart  full 
of  religion — or  it  is  worse  than  useless.  Yet  it  is  of 
priceless  value,  and  no  trouble  is  too  great  to  be 
spent  in  acquiring  it.  I  am  not  sure  but  we  are 
more  in  need  of  those  who  can  talk  about  religion 
than  of  those  who  can  preach  about  it.  A  sermon  is 
often  applied  by  the  hearers  to  one  another,  whilst 
each  puts  its  message  away  from  himself;  but  con- 
versation goes  straight  to  its  mark.     If  it  is  supported 

so  thut  es  ihnen  auch  wohl,  an  der  Predigt,  die  sie  vernehmen, 
das  festliche  Kleid  zu  gevvahren."  From  the  Preface  to  Tholuck's 
Predigten,  where  will  be  found  some  of  the  most  remarkable 
pages  on  Preaching  ever  written. 


CHRIST  AS  A    WINNER   OF  SOULS.  235 

by  an  impressive  and  consistent  character,  he  who 
can  wield  it  carries  a  blessing  with  him  wherever  he 
goes  ;  in  homes  in  which  he  has  been  a  visitor  his 
memory  is  cherished  as  that  of  one  who  has  made 
religion  real  ;  and,  though  his  name  may  be  little 
heard  of  on  earth,  his  track  through  the  world  is 
marked  by  a  line  of  light  to  the  eye  of  Heaven. 

Jesus  did  not,  however,  need  always  to  be  the 
aggressor  when  employing  this  instrument.  In  many 
cases  those  whom  He  conversed  with  about  the  con- 
cerns of  the  soul  introduced  the  subject  themselves. 
Persons  who  were  anxious  about  religion  sought  Him 
out  ;  for  they  instinctively  felt  that  He  knew  the 
way  after  which  they  were  groping.  The  passing  ot 
Jesus  through  the  country  was  like  the  passing  of  a 
magnet  over  a  floor  where  there  are  pieces  of  iron  : 
it  drew  the  souls  which  had  affinity  for  the  divine  life 
to  itself  And  in  all  Christian  communities  there  are 
some  who,  in  greater  or  less  degree,  discharge  the  same 
function.  They  are  known  to  possess  the  secret  of 
life  ;  those  passing  through  the  deepest  experiences 
of  the  soul  are  confident  that  they  will  understand 
them  ;  burdened  consciences  seek  their  sympathy. 
Surely  this  is  the  most  precious  privilege  of  the  soul- 
winner:  he  is  never  so  effectively  seeking  the  lost  as 
when  the  lost  seek  him. 


2j6  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


IV. 

As  our  subject  in  these  chapters  is  the  imitation 
of  Christ,  we  naturally  dwell  on  those  aspects  of  His 
life  and  work  in  which  it  is  possible  for  us  to  imitate 
Him.  But  ever  and  anon  we  need  to  remember  at 
what  a  height  He  is  above  us.  It  is  only  with  dis- 
tant and  faltering  steps  we  can  follow  Him  at  all  ; 
and  in  many  places  He  passes  quite  beyond  our 
reach. 

It  is  so  at  this  point.  In  some  respects,  such 
as  those  just  mentioned,  we  can  imitate  Him  in 
winning  souls  ;  but  He  went,  in  this  quest,  where  we 
cannot  go  :  He  came  not  only  to  seek  but  to  save 
the  lost.  He  compared  Himself,  as  a  soul-winner, 
to  the  shepherd  going  after  the  lost  sheep  and 
bringing  it  home  on  his  shoulders  rejoicing ;  and 
thus  far  we  may  venture  to  compare  our  own  soul- 
winning  to  His ;  but  He  carried  the  comparison 
further  :  "  The  good  shepherd  giveth  his  life  for  the 
sheep."  He  followed  sinners  to  their  earthly  haunts, 
and  so  may  we  ;  but  He  followed  them  further — 
down  to  the  gates  of  hell,  where  He  plucked  the 
prey  from  the  hands  of  the  mighty.  He  entered 
a  supernatural  region,  where  He  conquered  for  us, 
made  atonement  for  us,  opened  for  us  the  gates  of 
immortality.    Of  these  transactions  we  can  but  dimly 


CHRIST  AS  A    WINNER   OF  SOULS.  237 


know,  for  they  were  done  in  a  region  which  we  have 
not  seen.  Only  we  know  that  they  were  greater — 
more  pathetic  and  solemn — than  all  our  thoughts. 
The  outward  sign  and  symbol  of  them  which  we 
can  see  is  Golgotha — His  body  broken  for  us,  His 
blood  shed  for  us.  And  this  is  the  highest  symbol 
of  soul-winning  love. 

Here  we  rather  bow  down  and  adore  than  think 
of  imitation.  Yet  here  too  there  are  lessons  which 
all  must  learn  who  wish  to  be  expert  in  this  art. 
No  one  will  have  power  with  men  who  has  not 
power  with  God  for  men  ;  the  victory  may  seem 
to  be  won  whilst  we  persuade  men,  but  it  has  to 
be  previously  won  in  the  place  of  intercession.  This 
place  was  to  Jesus  a  place  of  agony  and  death  ; 
and  there  is  no  soul- winning  without  pain  and 
sacrifice.  St.  Paul  said  that  he  filled  up  that  which 
was  lacking  in  the  sufferings  of  Christ  for  His 
body's  sake,  which  is  the  Church  ;  and  all  who  will 
be  partakers  of  Christ's  joy  in  the  redemption  of  the 
world   must  first  be  partakers  in   His  sufferings. 

V. 

If  the    art    of   the    soul-winner    is    difficult    and 
accompanied  with  much  pain,   its    reward  is  corre-  . 
spondingly  great.    I  have  known  an  eminent  portrait- 
painter,  who,  when  the  crisis  of  his  picture  came  at 


238  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


which  it  was  to  be  determined  whether  or  not  he  had 
produced  a  likeness  of  the  features  only,  or  a  picture 
of  the  soul  and  character  of  his  subject,  used  to 
fall  into  perfect  paroxysms  of  excitement,  weeping, 
wringing  his  hands  and  grovelling  on  the  ground  ; 
but,  when  it  was  over  and  the  true  likeness  stood 
embodied  on  the  canvas,  gave  way  to  equally  ex- 
travagant exultation.  And  it  must  be  a  strange 
sensation  to  see  an  image  of  beauty,  out  of  nothing 
so  to  speak,  gradually  developing  itself  on  the  canvas 
and  living  there.  But  what  is  this  compared  with 
seeing  a  soul  emerging  from  death  into  life — its 
wings  freeing  themselves  from  the  hard,  ugly  chrysalis 
of  its  natural  condition,  to  flutter  forth  into  the 
sunshine  of  eternity } 

Of  the  effect  of  this  sight  on  Jesus  we  have  an 
authentic  glimpse  in  the  wonderful  parables  of  the 
fifteenth  of  St.  Luke — the  shepherd  calling  his 
friends  together  and  saying,  "  Rejoice  with  me,  for 
I  have  found  my  sheep  which  was  lost,"  and  the 
father  of  the  prodigal  crying,  "  Let  us  eat  and  drink 
and  be  merry."  He  has  told  us  Himself  what  this 
rejoicing  means  :  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you.  There  is 
joy  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  God  over  one 
sinner  that  repenteth."  And  that  joy  in  the  faces 
of  the  angels  is  only  a  reflection  of  the  joy  of  the 
Lord  of  angels,  on  whose  face  they  are  ever  gazing. 


CHRIST  AS  A    U'lyNER   OF  SOULS.  235 

In  His  earthly  life  we  see  very  clearly  on  at  least 
one  occasion  this  holy  excitement  in  His  heart.* 
When  He  had  won  the  wicked  woman  of  Samaria 
10  God  and  holiness,  His  disciples,  arriving  where 
He  was  with  provisions  which  they  brought  from  the 
town,  prayed  Him,  saying,  "  Master,  eat"  But  He 
could  not  eat  ;  He  was  too  delighted  and  absorbed  ; 
and  He  answered,  "  I  have  meat  to  eat  that  ye 
know  not  of."  Then,  looking  towards  the  city, 
whither  the  woman  had  gone  to  bring  more  souls 
to  Him  to  be  won,  He  continued  in  the  same  en- 
raptured strain,  "  Say  not  ye.  There  are  yet  four 
months,  and  then  cometh  harvest  ?  Behold,  I  say 
unto  you.  Lift  up  your  eyes,  and  look  on  the  fields  ; 
for  they  are  white  already  to  harvest."  It  was 
the  same  deep  passion  in  another  phase,  when  He 
beheld  the  city  which  He  had  in  vain  attempted  to 
win  and  in  which  so  many  souls  were  perishing,  and 
wept  over  it. 

In  these  sacred  emotions  all  soul-winners  partake 
in  their  degree  ;  and  there  are  no  higher  emotions 
in  this  world.  They  are  the  signature  and  patent 
of  a  nobility  derived  directly  from  Heaven  ;  for  the 
humblest  Christian  worker,  who  is  really  pained  with 

*  I  have  heard  the  late  Brownlow  North  say  that,  though  on 
one  side  of  His  nature  Jesus  was  the  Man  of  Sorrows,  on  another 
He  was  the  happiest  of  all  the  children  of  men. 


240  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


the  sin  of  men  and  rejoices  in  their  salvation,  is 
feeling,  in  his  degree,  the  very  passion  which  bore 
the  Saviour  of  the  world  through  His  sufferings, 
and  which  has  throbbed  from  eternity  in  the  heart 
of  God. 


XIII. 

CHRIST   AS  A   PREACHER 


I6 


Matt 

iv.  i6  ;  23-25. 

>> 

V.  -vii. 

•> 

«.  4. 13 ;  35-38. 

it 

X.  7,  19,  20  ;  27, 

t» 

xiii. 

t» 

xvi.  14. 

Mark 

i-  38-  39- 

» 

ii.  2. 

„ 

iv.  33. 

tt 

vi.  1-6. 

Luke  iv.  16-32. 

„  V.  17. 

„  vii.  16. 

,,  viii.  1-8. 

„  xi.  27,  28. 


John  iii.  34. 

„     vii.  14-16  ;  26  ;  40  ; 

45.  46. 
,,     viii.  I,  2. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

CHRIST   AS    A   PREACHER. 

I. 

T  F,  in  the  course  of  a  lifetime,  we  have  been 
■^  fortunate  enough  to  hear  once  or  twice  an 
orator  of  the  first  rank,  we  talk  of  it  all  our  days  ; 
or,  if  we  can  remember  a  preacher  who  first  made 
religion  real  to  us,  his  image  is  enshrined  in  our 
memory  in  a  sacred  niche.  What,  then,  must  it 
have  been  to  listen  to  Him  who  spake  as  never 
man  spake  .?  What  must  it  have  been  to  hear 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  or  the  Parable  of  the  "t^ 
Prodigal  Son  issuing,  for  the  first  time,  fresh  from 
the  lips   that  uttered  them  .? 

For  thirty  years  Jesus  had  kept  silence.  During 
this  period  the  waters  of  thought  and  conviction 
had  been  accumulating  in  His  mind  ;  and,  when 
the  outlet  was  opened,  forth  they  rushed  in  copious 
volume.  He  began  in  Nazareth  and  Capernaum, 
the  places  of  His  abode,  to  preach  in  the  syna- 
gogues on    the    Sabbaths,     But   He  soon  extended 


244  IMAGO   CHRISTL 


His  activity  to  the  neighbouring  villages  and  towns. 
Nor  were  the  Sabbaths  and  the  synagogues  and  the 
customary  hours  of  worship  sufficient  for  His  zeal  ; 
by-and-bye  He  was  preaching  every  day,  and  not 
only  in  the  synagogues,  but  in  streets  and  squares, 
and  in  the  more  picturesque  temple  of  the  hillside 
or  the  seashore. 

The  enthusiasm  of  those  whom  He  addressed 
corresponded  with  His  own.  Almost  as  soon  as 
He  began  to  preach  His  fame  spread  over  the 
whole  of  Syria,  bringing  hearers  from  every 
quarter ;  and  from  this  time  onwards  we  are 
constantly  hearing  that  great  multitudes  followed 
Him,  the  crowd  becoming  sometimes  so  dense 
that  they  trode  one  upon  another.  They  detained 
Him  when,  wearied  out  with  His  efforts,  He 
wished  to  escape  into  solitude ;  and,  if  at  length 
He  got  away  for  a  little,  they  were  waiting  for  Him 
when  He  came  back. 

All  classes  were  to  be  found  in  His  audiences. 
Not  unfrequently  the  preacher  who  can  move  the 
populace  is  neglected  by  the  educated,  whilst  he 
who  can  satisfy  the  cultured  few  is  caviare  to  the 
general.  But  at  the  feet  of  Jesus  you  might  have 
seen  Pharisees  and  doctors  of  the  law  sitting,  who 
were  come  out  of  every  town  of  Galilee  and  Judaea 
and    Jerusalem;   whilst,     on    the    other    hand,   the 


CHRIST  AS  A    PREACHER.  245 

common  people  heard  Him  gladly ;  and  even  the 
class  below  the  line  of  respectability — those  who  in 
general  cared  nothing  for  synagogues  and  sermons 
— were  roused  for  once  to  frequent  the  public 
religious  assemblies:  "Then  drew  near  unto  Him  all 
the  publicans   and  sinners  for  to  hear  Him." 

Wherein  lay  the  secret  of  this  intense  and  uni- 
versal interest  ?  The  ancients  represented  the  orator 
in  works  of  art  as  drawing  men  after  himself  with 
golden  chains  issuing  from  his  mouth.  What  were 
the  chains  of  attraction  by  which  Jesus  drew  all  men 
unto  Himself? 

n. 

When  the  standard  of  religious  life  and  of  preach- 
ing is  conspicuously  low  in  a  country  or  neigh- 
bourhood, the  appearance  of  a  man  of  God  who 
preaches  the  Word  with  power  is  made  remarkable 
by  contrast ;  the  darkness  of  the  background  making 
the  light  more  visible. 

A  darkness  of  this  kind,  which  may  be  compared 
to  that  of  midnight,  was  brooding  over  Galilee  when 
Jesus  opened  His  career  as  a  preacher  ;  and  St. 
Matthew,  who  lived  on  the  spot,  describes  the  con- 
trast by  quoting  these  words  of  prophecy :  **  The 
people  that  sat  in  darkness  saw  great  light ;  and  to 
them    who  sat   in   the  region   and  shadow  of  death 


240  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


light  is  sprung  up."  In  the  same  way,  the  first 
criticism  passed  on  the  new  Preacher  by  all  who 
heard  Him  was  a  surprised  expression  of  the 
difference  they  felt  between  Him  and  their  ac- 
customed teachers  :  "  The  people  were  astonished  at 
His  doctrine ;  for  He  taught  them  as  one  having 
authority,  and   not  as  the  scribes." 

The  scribes  were  their  accustomed  teachers,  who 
harangued  them  week  by  week  in  the  synagogues. 
No  doubt  there  must  have  been  differences  among 
them  ;  tliey  cannot  all  have  been  equally  bad  ;  but, 
taken  as  a  whole,  they  were  probably  the  most 
barren  and  unspiritual  set  of  men  who  have  ever 
held  sway  over  the  mind  of  a  nation.  In  the  col- 
lection of  Jewish  books  called  the  Talmud,  which 
has  come  down  to  us  and  is,  indeed,  at  present  in 
process  of  being  translated  into  the  English  lan- 
guage, we  have  specimens  of  their  teaching,  and 
those  who  have  studied  them  declare  that  they  are 
the  driest  products  of  the  human  mind.  To  read 
them  is  like  travelling  through  endless  galleries  of 
lumber,  where  the  air  is  darkened  and  the  lungs  are 
well-nigh  asphyxiated  with  the  rising  dust. 

The  people  in  their  criticism  of  Jesus  exactly  hit 
the  principal  defect  of  their  teachers.  He,  they 
said,  taught  with  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes  ; 
that   is,  the  scribes  taught  without  authority.      This 


CHRIST  AS  A   PREACHER.  247 

is  the  leading  characteristic  of  these  Talmudic  writ- 
ings. No  teacher  speaks  as  if  he  had  ever  been  in 
touch  with  God  Himself  or  seen  the  spiritual  world 
with  his  own  eyes.  Everyone  quotes  some  earlier 
teacher,  to  whose  authority  he  appeals  ;  they  are  all 
leaning  upon  one  another.  This  is  a  fatal  kind  of 
preaching,  though  it  has  often  prevailed  and  some- 
times loudly  arrogated  to  itself  the  name  of  ortho- 
doxy. Have  you  never  heard  God  spoken  of  as 
if  He  had  existed  hundreds  of  years  ago,  in  Bible 
times,  but  no  longer  moved  and  worked  in  the  life 
and  history  of  today  ?  Have  you  never  heard  joy 
in  God,  the  happiness  of  forgiveness,  the  fulness  of 
the  Spirit,  and  the  other  higher  experiences  of  the 
spiritual  life,  spoken  of  as  if  they  had,  indeed,  been 
experienced  by  the  saints  of  the  Bible,  but  were  no 
longer  to  be  looked  for  in  these  modern  centuries  } 
The  Bible  can  be  converted  into  a  prison  in  which 
God  is  confined,  or  a  museum  in  which  the  spiritual 
life  is  preserved  as  an  antiquarian  curiosity.  But 
those  who  came  to  hear  Jesus  felt  that  He  was  in 
direct  contact  with  the  spiritual  world  and  brought 
to  them  news  of  what  He  had  Himself  seen  and 
felt.  He  was  not  a  mere  commentator,  repeating 
some  faint  and  far-derived  echo  of  the  message  re- 
ceived from  on  high  by  men  long  dead.  He  spoke 
like  one  who  had  just  come  from  the  abode  of  the 


248  IMAGO  CHRTSTl 


Highest,  or  rather  who  was  still  in  it,  seeing  what 
He  was  describing.  He  was  not  a  scribe,  but  a 
prophet,  who  could  say,  "  Thus  saith  the  Lord." 

So  the  fame  of  Him  travelled  from  Dan  to 
Beersheba  ;  men  said  to  one  another,  with  kindling 
looks,  "  A  great  prophet  is  risen  up  among  us  ; " 
and  the  shepherd  left  his  sheep  in  the  wilderness, 
the  husbandman  his  vineyard,  and  the  fisher  his 
nets  by  the  shore,  to  go  and  hear  the  new  Preacher  ; 
for  men  know  they  need  a  message  from  the  other 
world,  and  they  instinctively  recognise  the  authentic 
voice  when  they  hear  it. 

HI. 

Preaching  sometimes  acquires  an  extraordinary 
influence  from  the  personality  of  the  preacher. 
Those  who  have  merely  read  the  sermon  are  told 
by  those  who  have  heard  it  that  they  have  no  con- 
ception of  what  it  was  :  "  You  should  have  seen  the 
man."  It  is  well  known  that  the  posthumously 
published  discourses  of  some  of  the  greatest  pulpit 
orators  have  entirely  disappointed  the  world,  pos- 
terity asking  in  surprise  where  the  influence  can 
have  lain.  It  lay  in  the  man — in  the  peculiarity  of 
his  personality — in  the  majesty  of  his  appearance, 
or  his  passionate  earnestness,  or  his  moral  force. 

It  cannot  be  said  that  the  printed  words  of  Jesus 


CHRIST  AS  A   PREACHER.  249 

are  disappointing  :  on  the  contrary,  their  weightiness 
and  originality  must  have  attracted  attention  how- 
ever they  had  been  spoken.  But  yet  in  this  case, 
also,  as  can  easily  be  perceived  from  the  criticism  of 
His  hearers,  the  Preacher  told  as  well  as  the  sermon. 

We  do  not,  indeed,  know  how  Jesus  looked — 
whether  His  appearance  was  attractive,  His  voice 
pleasant,  or  the  like  ;  the  traditions  about  such 
things  which  have  come  down  to  us  not  being  trust- 
worthy. But  we  do  know  in  some  respects  the 
nature  of  the  impressions  which  He  made  on  His 
hearers. 

Though  for  many  generations  the  only  preachers 
whom  His  countrymen  had  heard  were  dry-as-dust 
scribes,  yet  one  of  the  proudest  traditions  of  the 
Jewish  people  was  the  memory  of  great  speakers 
for  God  whose  voices  had  sounded  through- 
out the  land  in  days  gone  by,  and  whose  charac- 
teristics were  indelibly  imprinted  on  the  national 
memory  ;  and,  as  soon  as  Jesus  commenced  to 
preach,  it  was  recognised  at  once  that  the  great 
order  of  the  Prophets  had  revived  in  Him.  They 
said    He   spoke   as   one   of  the  prophets. 

But  they  went  further:  they  actually  believed 
that  one  or  other  of  the  old  prophets  had  risen 
from  the  dead  and  resumed  his  work  in  the  person 
of  Jesus.     In  indulging  this  fancy,  they  were  divided 


250  IMAGO  CHRIST/. 


between  two  of  the  ancient  prophets,  and  the  selec- 
tion of  these  two  clearly  shows  what  characteristics 
they  had  specially  remarked  in  Him.  The  two 
were  Jeremiah  and  Elijah :  some  said  He  was 
Jeremiah,  others    that  He   was    Elijah. 

Now  these  were  both  great  prophets  ;  perhaps 
the  very  greatest  in  the  popular  estimation  ;  so  that 
it  was  to  their  very  greatest  that  they  compared 
Him,  But  the  two  were  of  types  so  diametrically 
opposite  to  one  another  that  it  may  seem  impossible 
that  their  characteristics  should  have  been  united  in 
one  personality. 

Jeremiah  was  the  soft,  pathetic  prophet — the  man 
of  heart,  who  wished  that  his  eyes  were  a  fountain 
of  tears  to  weep  for  the  misfortunes  of  his  people. 
It  is  not  surprising  that  Christ's  hearers  discovered  a 
resemblance  to  him  ;  for  it  must  have  been  evident 
at  the  first  glance  that  Jesus  was  a  man  of  heart. 
The  very  first  sentences  of  His  Sermon  on  the 
Mount  were  words  of  compassion  for  the  poor,  the 
mourners,  the  oppressed.  The  most  insignificant 
among  His  hearers  must  have  felt  that  He  took  an 
interest  in  him  and  would  take  any  trouble  to  do 
him  good.  Although  He  addressed  all  classes.  His 
boast  was  that  He  preached  the  Gospel  to  the  poor  ; 
whilst  the  scribes  flattered  the  wealthy  and  coveted 
cultivated  audiences,  the   common   man   knew  that 


CHRIS7  AS  A   PREACHER.  251 

Jesus  considered  his  soul  as  precious  as  that  of  the 
wealthiest  of  His  hearers.  The  sight  of  a  multitude 
moved  Him  with  a  strange  compassion.  And,  like 
Jeremiah,  He  was  such  an  intense  lover  of  His 
country  and  His  countrymen,  that  even  the  publican 
or  harlot  was  dear  to  Him  because  belonging  to  the 
seed  of  Abraham. 

Elijah  was  in  every  respect  a  contrast  to  Jere- 
miah :  he  was  a  man  of  rock,  who  could  rebuke 
kings  and  queens  to  their  faces  and  stand  alone 
against  the  world.  It  did  not  seem  possible  that 
one  who  exhibited  the  traits  of  Jeremiah  should  also 
exhibit  those  of  Elijah.  Yet  the  people  recognised 
in  Jesus  an  Elijah.  And  they  were  not  mistaken. 
It  is  an  entire  misapprehension  to  suppose  that  Jesus 
was  all  softness  and  gentleness.  There  was  a  stern- 
ness in  many  of  His  utterances  not  surpassed  even  by 
Elijah's  rebukes  of  Ahab,  and  the  bold  denunciation 
of  wrong  was  one  of  the  most  imposing  elements  of 
His  power.  There  has  never  been  in  this  world  a 
polemic  so  uncompromising  and  annihilating  as  His 
against  the  Pharisees. 

The  truth  is,  both  characteristics,  His  softness 
and  His  sternness,  had  a  common  root.  As  in 
the  poorest  peasant  He  saw  and  revered  a  man,  so 
in  the  wealthiest  noble  He  saw  no  more  than  a  man. 
As  the  rags  of  Lazarus  could   not  conceal  from  Him 


252  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


the  dignity  of  the  soul,  so  the  purple  of  Dives  could 
not  blind  Him  to  its  meanness.  He  knew  what 
was  in  man — the  height  and  the  depths,  the  glory 
and  the  shame,  the  pathos  and  the  horror ;  and 
men  felt,  as  they  faced  Him,  that  here  was  One 
whose  manhood  towered  above  their  own  and  yet, 
stooping  down,  embraced  it  and  sympathized  with 
it  through  and  through. 

IV. 

No  preacher  has  perhaps  ever  made  a  profound 
impression  on  the  general  mind  who  has  not  studied 
the  form  in  which  to  put  what  he  has  had  to  say  ; 
or  perhaps  the  fact  might  be  more  correctly  stated 
by  saying,  that  the  true  messenger  from  God  to  the 
people  instinctively  clothes  his  message  in  attractive 
and  arresting  words.  Beginners  in  preaching,  I 
observe,  are  apt  to  neglect  this  :  they  think  that,  if 
only  they  have  something  good  to  say,  it  does  not 
matter  how  they  say  it.  As  well  might  a  house- 
wife suppose  that,  if  only  she  has  something  good  to 
give  her  guests  to  eat,  it  does  not  matter  how  it  is 
cooked. 

The  teaching  of  Jesus  owed  its  attractiveness,  and 
owes  it  still,  in  no  small  degree,  to  its  exquisite  form. 
The  common  people  do  not,  I  think,  as  a  rule 
remember  so  well  the  drift  of  an  argument  or  a  lo.ng 


CHRIST  AS  A    PREACHER.  253 


discourse  as  remarks  here  and  there  expressed  in 
pithy,  pointed,  crystalline  words.  This  is  the  form 
of  most  of  the  sayings  of  Jesus.  They  are  simple, 
felicitous  and  easily  remembered  ;  yet  every  one  of 
them  is  packed  full  of  thought,  and  the  longer  you 
brood  over  it  the  more  do  you  see  in  it.  It  is  like  a 
pool  so  clear  and  sunny  that  it  seems  quite  shallow, 
till,  thrusting  in  your  stick  to  touch  the  pebbles  so 
clearly  visible  at  the  bottom,  you  discover  that  its 
depth  far  exceeds  what  you  are  trying  to  measure 
it  with. 

But  the  discourses  of  Jesus  had  a  still  more 
popular  quality  :  they  were  plentifully  adorned  with 
illustrations.  This  is  the  most  attractive  quality  of 
human  speech.  The  same  God  being  the  Author 
of  both  the  world  of  mind  and  the  world  of  matter. 
He  has  so  fashioned  them  that  the  objects  of  nature, 
if  presented  in  a  certain  way,  become  mirrors  in 
which  are  reflected  the  truths  of  the  spirit ;  and 
we  are  so  constituted  that  we  never  relish  truth  so 
well  as  when  it  is  presented  in  this  way.  Nature 
contains  thousands  of  these  mirrors  for  exhibiting 
spiritual  truth  which  have  never  yet  been  used  but 
await  the  hands  of  the  masters  of  speech  who  are 
yet  to  be  born. 

Christ  used  this  method  of  illustrating  truth  so 
constantly  that  the  common  objects  of  the  country 


254  IMAGO  CHRISTl. 


in  which  He  resided  are  seen  more  perfectly  in 
His  words  than  in  all  the  historians  of  the  time. 
The  Jewish  life  of  Galilee  in  the  days  of  Christ 
is  thus  lifted  up  out  of  the  surrounding  darkness 
into  everlasting  visibility,  and,  as  on  the  screen  of 
a  magic  lantern,  we  see,  in  scene  after  scene,  the 
landscapes  of  the  country,  the  domestic  life  of  the 
people,  and  the  larger  life  of  the  cities  in  all  their 
details.  In  the  house  we  see  the  cup  and  the 
platter,  the  lamp  and  the  candlestick  ;  we  see  the 
servants  grinding  the  meal  between  the  millstones 
and  then  hiding  the  leaven  in  it,  till  the  whole  is 
leavened  ;  we  see  the  mother  of  the  family  sewing 
a  piece  of  cloth  on  an  old  garment  and  the  father 
straining  the  wine  into  the  skin-bottles  ;  we  see,  at 
the  door,  the  hen  gathering  her  chickens  under  her 
wings  and,  in  the  streets,  the  children  playing  at 
marriages  and  funerals.  Out  in  the  fields  we  see 
the  lilies  in  their  stately  beauty  rivalling  Solomon's, 
the  crows  picking  up  the  seed  behind  the  sower,  and 
the  birds  in  their  nests  among  the  branches  ;  the 
doves  and  the  sparrows,  dogs  and  swine,  the  fig  tree 
and  the  bramble  bush.  Looking  up,  we  see  the 
cloud  carried  over  the  landscape  by  the  south  wind, 
the  red  sky  of  evening  promising  fair  weather  for 
the  morrow,  and  the  lightning  flashing  from  one 
end  of  heaven  to  the  other.     We  see  the  vineyard 


CHRIST  AS  A   PREACHER.  255 


with  its  tower  and  winepress  ;  the  field  adorned 
with  the  tender  blade  of  spring  or  sprinkled  with 
the  reapers  among  the  yellow  grain  of  autumn  ; 
the  sheep,  too,  yonder  on  their  pastures,  and  the 
shepherd  going  before  them  or  seeking  the  lost  one 
far  over  hill  and  dale.  Are  there  any  figures  of 
our  own  streets  with  which  we  are  more  familiar 
than  the  Pharisee  and  the  Publican  at  prayer  in  the 
Temple  ;  or  the  Priest  and  the  Levite  and  the  Good 
Samaritan  on  the  road  to  Jericho  ;  or  the  gorgeous 
Dives  at  his  daily  banquet  and  Lazarus  lying  at  his 
gate  with  the  dogs  licking  his  sores  ?  Nor  were 
<"hese  pictures  less  striking  to  the  audiences  of  Jesus, 
though  they  were  familiar  ;  for — 

We're  made  so  that  we  love 
First,  when  we  see  them  painted,  things  we've  passed 
Perhaps  a  hundred  times,  nor  cared  to  see. 

It  was  because  Jesus  had  exquisite  love  and 
consideration  for  His  hearers  that  He  thus  sought 
out  acceptable  words  to  win  their  minds.  But  there 
was  a  reason  in  Himself  besides.  It  is  when  the 
mind  of  a  preacher  is  acting  on  the  truth  with 
intense  energy  and  delight  that  it  coruscates  in 
such  gleams  of  illustration.  When  the  mental 
energy  is  only  smouldering  in  a  lukewarm  way 
inside  the  subject,  then  you  have  the  commonplace, 
prosaic  statement  ;  when  the  warmth  increases  and 


256  IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


pervades  the  whole,  you  get  the  clear,  strong, 
impressive  statement  ;  but,  when  the  glow  has 
thoroughly  mastered  the  mass  and  flames  all  over 
it,  then  come  the  gorgeous  images  and  parables 
which  dwell  for  ever  in   the  minds  of  the  hearers. 

V. 

However  important  the  form  of  preaching  may 
be,  the  supremely  momentous  thing  is  the  substance 
of  it.  The  form  is  only  the  stamp  of  the  coin  ;  but 
the  substance  is  the  metal.  What  is  that — is  it 
gold  or  silver,  or  only  copper  ?  is  it  genuine  or 
counterfeit  ?     This  is  the  all-important  question. 

Never  has  the  substance  of  preaching  been  more 
trivial  than  among  the  Jewish  scribes.  The  Tal- 
mudical  books  show  this.  The  topics  they  deal 
with  are  in  their  triviality  beneath  contempt.  The 
religion  of  the  scribes  was  a  mere  round  of  cere- 
monies, and  their  preaching  was  almost  wholly 
occupied  with  these :  the  proper  breadth  of  phy- 
lacteries, the  proper  length  of  fasts,  the  articles 
on  which  tithe  ought  to  be  paid,  the  hundred  and 
one  things  by  which  one  might  be  made  ceremonially 
unclean — these  and  a  thousand  similar  minutias 
formed  the  themes  of  their  tiresome  harangues. 
There  have  been  times  in  the  history  of  the  Church 
since  then  when  the  pulpit  has  sunk  almost  to  as 


CHRIST  AS  A   PREACHER.  257 

low  a  level.  In  our  own  country  immediately  before 
the  Reformation  the  sermons  of  the  monks  were, 
if  possible,  even  worse — more  trivial  and  low 
in  tone — than  those  of  the  scribes  in  the  time 
of  Christ.  Similarly  in  Germany  last  century,  when 
Rationalism  was  at  its  lowest,  the  pulpit  had 
reached  an  almost  incredible  stage  of  degradation.* 
The  truth  is,  there  is  a  necessity  in  these  things. 
When  the  minds  of  preachers  grow  cold,  they  move 
away  insensibly  from  the  central  things  and  drift  to 
those  on  the  circumference ;  and  at  length  they 
go   over   the   circumference. 

Of  course  the  subjects  which  formed  the  sub- 
stance of  Christ's  preaching  cannot  here  be  enu- 
merated. It  must  suffice  to  say  that  His  matter 
was  always  the  most  solemn  and  vital  which  can  be 
presented  to  the  human  mind.  He  spoke  of  God 
in  such  a  way  that  His  hearers  felt  as  if  to  their 
eyes  God  was  now  light  and  in  Him  was  no  dark- 
ness at  all.  As  He  uttered  such  parables  as  the  Lost 
Sheep  and  the  Prodigal  Son,  it  seemed  as  if  the 
gates  of  heaven  were  thrown  open  and  they  could 
see  the  very  beatings  of  the  heart  of  the  divine 
mercy.      He    spoke   of  man    so    as  to  make    every 

•  "  Die  Zeit  der  Kaffee-  und  Kuhpocken-Predigten  "  it  is  wittily 
named  by  Tholuck,  referring,  I  fancy,  to  the  subjects  of  some 
notorious  sermons. 

17 


258  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


hearer  feel  that  till  that  moment  he  had  never  been 
acquainted  either  with  himself  or  with  the  human 
race.  He  made  every  man  conscious  that  he  carried 
in  his  own  bosom  that  which  was  more  precious 
than  worlds ;  and  that  the  passing  hours  of  his 
apparently  trivial  life  were  charged  with  issues 
reaching  high  as  heaven  and  deep  as  hell.  When 
He  spoke  of  eternity,  He  brought  life  and  im- 
mortality, which  men  before  then  had  only  vaguely 
guessed  at,  fully  to  light,  and  described  the  world 
behind  the  veil  with  the  graphic  and  familiar  force 
•)f  one  to  whom  it  was  no  unknown  country. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  crowds  followed  Him, 
that  they  hung  spellbound  on  His  lips  and  could 
never  get  enough  of  His  preaching  ?  Intoxicated 
as  men  are  with  the  secularities  of  this  world,  they 
know,  deep  down,  that  they  belong  to  another,  and, 
interesting  as  the  knowledge  of  this  world  is,  the 
questions  about  the  other  world  will  always  be  far 
more  fascinating  to  the  spirit  of  man.  Whence  am 
I  ?  What  am  I }  Whither  am  I  going  ?  Unless 
preaching  can  answer  these  questions,  we  may  shut 
our  churches.  That  voice  which  sounded  on  the 
Galilean  mountain-side,  and  which  spoke  of  these 
mysteries  so  familiarly,  we,  indeed,  shall  never  hear, 
tili  we  hear  it  from  the  great  white  throne.  But 
the  heart  and  the  spirit  that  embodied  themselves 


CHRIST  AS  A   PREACHER.  259 

in  these  sounds  never  die  ;  they  live  and  burn  to-day 
as  they  did  then.  Whenever  a  preacher  strikes 
correctly  a  note  of  the  eternal  truth,  it  is  Christ  that 
does  it.  Whenever  a  preacher  makes  you  feel  that 
there  is  a  world  of  realities  above  and  behind 
the  one  you  see  and  touch  ;  whenever  he  lays 
hold  of  your  mind,  touches  your  heart,  awakens 
your  aspiration,  rouses  your  conscience — that  is 
Christ  trying  to  grasp  you,  to  reach  you  with  His 
love,  to  save  you.  "  Now  then  we  are  ambassadors 
for  Christ ;  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by 
us,  we  pray  you  in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled 
to  God." 


XIV. 

CHRIST   AS   A   TEACHER 


Matt.  iv.  i8,  19.  Mark  iii.  i  . 

ix.  9;  14-17.  „  iv.  3i. 

X.  „  vi.  30-32. 

xii.  1-3;  49.  „  ix.  35-41. 

xiii.  10.  II  ;   16-36.  ,,  xvi.  7. 

XV.  15,    16;  23,   24  ;  32  ;  36. 

xvi.  5-28.  Luke  ix.  54-56. 

xvii.  ,,  X.  1-17. 

xviii.  1-3  ;  21,  22.  ,,  xi.  I. 

xix.   13-30.  ,,  xxiv.  36-51. 
XX.  17-19  ;  20-28. 

xxvi.  21,  22  ;  26  36  ;  56.                    John  ii.  11,  22 

xxviii.  7,  ID,  16-20.  ,,  iv.  2. 

,,  xiii.-xvii. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

CHRIST  AS  A  TEACHER. 
I. 

I  ''HE  function  of  the  teacher  is  a  more  limited 
one  than  that  of  the  preacher.  The  preacher 
addresses  the  multitude  ;  the  teacher  concentrates 
his  attention  on  a  select  few.  The  audiences  to 
whom  Jesus  preached  numbered  thousands ;  the 
men  to  whom  He  acted  as  teacher  numbered  only 
.twelve.  Yet  perhaps  in  its  results  His  work  in  the 
latter  capacity  was  quite  equal  in  value  to  His  whole 
work  as  a  preacher. 

The  teacher's  office  had  many  remarkable  occu- 
pants before  Christ.  In  the  schools  of  Greek 
philosophy  Socrates,  Plato,  Aristotle  and  other 
famous  masters  stood  in  a  relation  to  their  dis- 
ciples similar  to  that  which  Jesus  sustained  to 
His.  Among  the  Jews  also  this  relationship  was 
not  unknown.  In  the  schools  of  the  prophets,  in 
the  Old  Testament,  the  "  men  of  God "  were  the 
teachers  of  "  the  sons  of  the  prophets."     John  the 


264  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


Baptist,  besides  preaching  to  the  multitude,  had 
disciples  who  followed  him. 

The  standing  phrase  in  Greek  for  the  disciples 
of  any  master  is  "  those  about  him  : "  the  disciples 
of  Socrates,  for  example,  are  "  those  about  Socrates." 
Similarly  it  is  said  in  the  Gospels  that  Jesus  chose 
the  Twelve  "  that  they  should  be  with  Him."  This 
circumstance  alone  must  have  limited  the  number 
of  those  who  were  His  disciples  in  the  strict  sense  ; 
for  few  could  give  up  their  work  and  home  in  order 
to  follow  Him.  His  habits  were  itinerant ;  and 
this  made  the  separation  of  those  about  Him  from 
settled  occupations  more  absolute.  It  seems,  indeed, 
that  some  attached  themselves  to  Him  temporarily 
and  intermittently ;  for  we  hear  on  one  occasion  of 
as  many  as  a  hundred  and  twenty  disciples,  and 
on  another  of  seventy  ;  but  those  whom  He  chose 
out  to  give  up  all  and  be  with  Him  continually  were 
only  twelve.  ■ 

There  was,  however,  another  reason  for  the  strict 
limitation  of  their  number.  A  teacher  has  to  know 
his  disciples  individually  and  study  them,  as  a  mother 
has  to  study  the  temperament  of  each  of  her  chil- 
dren separately  in  order  to  be  to  them  a  good 
mother.  While  the  preacher,  addressing  a  crowd, 
draws  the  bow  at  a  venture,  not  knowing  whom 
he  may  hit,  and  has  carefully  to  avoid  references  to 


CHRIST  AS  A    TEACHER.  »6s 

particular  persons, the  teacher  addresses  every  question 
and  remark  straight  to  individuals  ;  and  therefore  he 
must  know  the  precise  mental  condition  of  every- 
one before  him.  This  is  why  the  names  of  the 
Twelve  are  so  exactly  given  in  evangelist  after 
evangelist,  and  their  relations  to  one  another  indi- 
cated. Perhaps  they  included  as  great  a  variety 
of  disposition  and  experience  as  will  ever  be  found 
among  the  same  number  of  men  ;  but  they  were 
not  too  numerous  for  separate  treatment,  and  there 
is  the  completest  evidence  that  their  Master  studied 
everyone  of  them  till  He  knew  him  through  and 
through,  and  carefully  adapted  His  treatment  to 
each  particular  case.  His  aiifectionate  way  with 
John  exactly  suited  the  temperament  of  that 
disciple  ;  and  equally  adapted  to  the  case  was  His 
patient  and  delicate  handling  of  Thomas.  But  His 
treatment  of  Peter  was  the  crown  and  glory  of 
His  activity  in  this  character.  How  completely 
He  knew  him  !  He  managed  the  tumultuous  and 
fluctuating  elements  of  his  character  as  a  perfect 
rider  does  a  high-mettled  horse.  And  how  success- 
ful He  was  I  He,  transformed  a  nature  unstable  as 
water  into  the  consistency  of  rock  ;  and  on  this 
rock  He  built  the  Church  of  the  New  Testament. 
Similar  results  were  achieved  in  the  whole  apostolic 
circle.     With  the  exception  of  the  traitor,  every  one 


a66  IMAGO   CHRISTl. 


of  the  Twelve  became,  by  means  of  the  Master's 
teaching,  able  to  be  a  pillar  in  the  Church  and  a 
power  in  the  world. 

Jesus  combined  the  work  of  the  preacher  and 
that  of  the  teacher.  The  former  was  most  fascinat- 
ing, and  it  could  easily  have  absorbed  His  whole 
time  and  strength.  The  multitudes  were  clamorous 
to  have  Him,  and  their  needs  spoke  urgently  to  His 
heart.  Yet  He  saved  most  of  His  time  for  the 
training  of  twelve  men.  We  love  numbers  too 
much.  We  measure  ministerial  success  by  them  ; 
and  many  servants  of  God  expend  on  them 
their  whole  strength.  It  is  true,  indeed,  that  no 
preacher  who  has  the  heart  of  Jesus  in  his  breast 
can  join  in  the  depreciation  of  the  multitude  which 
sounds  so  wise,  but  is  so  cheap.  Yet  the  example 
of  Jesus  teaches  us  also  a  different  lesson.  It  is 
a  saying  of  one  of  the  wise,  that  the  difference 
between  being  broad  and  being  narrow  is  the 
difference  between  being  a  marsh  and  being  a 
stream  ;  and  the  quaint  remark  has  a  bearing  on 
the  present  case.  If  a  moderate  quantity  of  force, 
such  as  may  be  in  us,  is  distributed  over  too  wide 
a  surface,  it  may  have  no  more  effect  than  the  inch- 
deep  water  of  a  marsh  ;  but,  concentrated  on  a 
more  limited  task,  it  may  be  like  a  stream  which 
sings  along  its  narrow  channel  and  drives  the  mill 


CHRIST  AS  A    TEACHER.  267 


Get  a  multitude  and  distribute  your  influence  over 
it,  and  every  one  may  receive  but  little  ;  but  throw 
yourself  on  twelve  men  or  six  or  even  one,  and 
the  effects  may  be  deep  and  everlasting.  There 
are  those  quite  unfit  to  address  a  multitude  who 
might  teach  a  small  number  ;  and  it  may  turn  out 
in  the  end  that  they  have  done  as  much  as  if  they 
had  been  endowed  with  the  more  coveted  gift. 

II. 

In  some  respects  Christ's  methods  of  teaching  the 
Twelve  ware  similar  to  those  which  He  pursued  with 
the  multitude.  They  heard  all  His  addresses  to  the 
multitude,  for  they  were  always  with  Him  ;  whereas 
the  majority  of  His  hearers  can  only  have  heard 
Him  once  or  twice.  Besides,  they  heard  from  Him 
in  private  many  a  discourse  not  dissim.ilar  in  its 
structure  to  His  public  sermons.  In  the  same  way, 
they  witnessed  all  His  miracles,  because  they  ac- 
companied Him  wherever  He  went ;  whereas  the 
majority  saw  only  the  miracles  performed  in  one 
or  two  places.  Besides,  He  wrought  some  of  His 
very  greatest  miracles — such,  for  example,  as  the 
stilling  of  the  tempest — in  their  presence  and  for 
their  benefit  alone.  This  constant  repetition  of  great 
impressions  was  an  incalculable  advantage. 

But  that  which  was  distinctive  in  His  method  of 


«68  IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


dealing  with  them  was  the  permission  He  gave  them 
to  put  questions,  which  He  answered.  Whenever 
there  was  anything  in  His  public  discourses  which 
was  obscure,  they  asked  Him  in  private  what  it 
meant,  and  He  told  them.  Or,  if  they  had  hesitation 
about  the  truth  or  wisdom  of  anything  He  stated, 
they  were  at  liberty  to  propound  their  doubts,  and 
He  solved  them.  Thus,  at  the  beginning  of  His 
ministry,  we  find  them  asking  why  He  spake  in 
parables,  and  again  and  again  afterwards  they  re- 
quested Him  to  explain  a  parable  which  they  had 
not  fully  understood.  When  they  heard  His  severe 
teaching  on  divorce,  they  said  to  Him,  "  If  the  case 
of  the  man  be  so  with  his  wife,  it  is  not  good  to 
marry,"  and  drew  from  Him  a  fuller  statement  on 
the  subject.  In  the  same  way,  when  they  heard 
Him  say  that  it  is  easier  for  a  camel  to  go  through 
the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  a  rich  man  to  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God,  they  exclaimed,  "Who 
then  can  be  saved  1 "  and  thus  led  Him  on  to  a 
copious  discourse  on  the  subject  of  riches.  In  short, 
we  are  told  that,  "  when  He  was  alone.  He  ex- 
pounded all  things  to   His  disciples." 

But  He  pursued  this  method  further :  He  not 
only  allowed  them  to  ask  questions,  but  provoked 
them  to  do  so.  He  deliberately  wound  His 
statements   in   obscurity  and  paradox   to  excite  the 


CHRIST  AS  A    TEACHER.  269 

questioning  propensity.  He  Himself  gave  this  ex- 
planation of  His  habit  of  speaking  in  parables.  The 
parable  was  a  veil  cast  over  the  face  of  the  truth  for 
the  very  purpose  of  tempting  the  hearers  to  lift  it 
and  see  the  beauty  which  it  half  concealed  and  half 
revealed.  A  teacher  has  done  nothing  unless  he 
awakens  the  mind  to  independent  activity.  As  long 
as  it  is  merely  passive,  receiving  what  is  poured  into 
it  but  doing  nothing  more,  true  education  has  not 
commenced.  It  is  only  when  the  mind  itself  begins 
to  work  on  a  subject,  feeling  within  itself  difficulties 
to  which  the  truth  supplies  the  answers,  and  wants 
to  which  it  gives  satisfaction,  that  growth  com- 
mences and  progress  is  made.  What  Christ  said 
set  the  minds  of  His  disciples  in  a  ferment ;  it  was 
intended  to  raise  in  them  all  sorts  of  perplexities, 
and  then  they  came  to  Him  for  their  solution. 

The  method  of  Socrates,  the  wisest  of  heathen 
teachers,  was  similar.  In  his  teaching  also  question- 
ing played  a  prominent  part.  When  a  disciple 
came  to  him,  Socrates  would  ask  a  question  on 
some  important  subject,  such  as  righteousness,  tem- 
perance or  wisdom,  about  which  the  disciple  beHeved 
himself  to  be  perfectly  well-informed.  His  answer 
would  be  replied  to  by  another  question,  designed  to 
make  him  doubt  whether  it  was  correct  or  sufficient. 
Then   Socrates   would  go  on  asking  question  after 


870  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


question  from  twenty  different  sides  and  angles  of 
the  subject,  till  the  disciple  was  made  to  see  that  his 
own  opinions  about  it  were,  as  yet,  nothing  but  a 
confused  bundle  of  contradictions,  and  probably  also 
that  his  mind  itself  was  a  mass  of  undigested  pulp.* 
Both  methods  had  the  same  end — to  excite 
the  mind  to  independent  activity.  Yet  there  is  a 
subtle  and  profound  distinction  between  them. 
Socrates  asked  questions  which  his  disciples  tried 
to  answer  ;  Jesus  provoked  His  disciples  to  ask 
questions  which  He  answered.  On  the  whole,  what 
was  aimed  at  in  the  school  of  philosophy  was  the 
mental  gymnastic  ;  the  answers  to  the  questions  did 
not  matter  so  much.  Indeed,  many  philosophers 
have  avowed  that  the  chief  end  of  their  work  is 
the  mental  invigoration  obtained  in  the  pursuit  of 
truth  ;  t    and   the   saying   of    one   of  them    is  well 

•  Description  by  Dr.  Chalmers  of  a  foolish  preacher;  story 
still  remembered  in  Kirkcaldy. 

t  Compare  the  witty  remark  ot  Novalis  {Sch7-iften,  vol.  iii., 
p.  196) :  "  Der  Philosoph  lebt  von  Problemen  wie  der  Mensch 
von  Speisen.  Ein  unauflosliches  Problem  ist  eine  unverdauliche 
Speise.  Was  die  Wiirze  an  den  Speisen,  das  ist  das  Paradoxe 
an  den  Problemen.  Wahrhaft  aufgelost  wird  ein  Problem  wenn 
es  als  solches  vernichtet  wird.  So  auch  mit  den  Speisen,  Der 
Gewinn  von  Beiden  ist  die  Thatigkeit,  die  bei  Beiden  erregt 
wird.  Jedoch  gibt  es  auch  nahrende  Probleme  wie  nahrende 
Speisen,  deren  Elemente  ein  Zuwachs  meiner  Intelligenz 
werdeo." 


CHRIST  AS  A    TEACHER.  Vj\ 

known,  that,  if  the  Deity  were  to  offer  him  in  one 
hand  the  pursuit  of  truth  and  in  the  other  the  truth 
itself,  he  would  unhesitatingly  choose  the  former. 
This  may  be  a  wise  saying  in  the  region  of  philo- 
sophy ;  but  no  wise  man  would  make  it  in  the 
region  of  religion.  It  was  saving  truth  of  which 
Jesus  was  a  teacher.  The  pursuit  of  this  also  dis- 
ciplines the  mind,  but  we  dare  not  be  satisfied  with  the 
pursuit  alone;  we  must  have  the  answers  to  the  great 
questions  of  the  soul.  Therefore,  whilst  Socrates 
questioned,  Jesus  answered  ;  and  to  Him,  after  wan- 
dering in  the  obscurities  of  doubt  and  inquiry,  men 
will  always  have  at  last  to  come  for  the  solution 
of  the  problems  of  the  spirit.  "  Lord,  to  whom 
shall  we  go  ?     Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life." 

III. 

If  we  were  to  express  the  aim  of  Christ  in  the 
training  of  the  Twelve  by  saying  that  it  was  to  pro- 
vide successors  to  Himself,  we  should  be  using  too 
strong  a  word  ;  for  of  course  in  His  greatest  and 
most  characteristic  work — the  working  out  of  re- 
demption by  His  sufferings  and  death — He  had, 
and  could  have,  no  successor.  He  finished  the  work^ 
leaving  nothing  for  anyone  else  to  do. 

But,  this  being  understood,  we  may  perhaps 
best  express  what   He  did  as  a  teacher  by  saying 


27a  IMAGO   CHRIST/. 

that  He  was  training  His  own  successors.  When 
He  was  taken  from  the  earth,  much  that  He  had 
been  wont  to  do,  and  would  have  continued  to  do 
had  He  remained  here,  fell  to  them.  They  had  to 
undertake  the  championing  of  the  cause  which  He 
had  founded,  and  its  guidance  in  the  world.  From 
the  very  beginning  of  His  own  activity  He  had 
had  this  in  view  ;  and,  in  spite  of  preoccupations, 
which  would,  if  He  had  allowed  them,  have  entirely 
absorbed  Him,  He  devoted  Himself  to  the  prepara- 
tion of  those  who  should  take  His  place  after  His 
departure. 

He  employed  them  at  first  in  subordinate  and 
ministerial  branches  of  His  own  work.  For 
example,  it  is  expressly  said  that  "Jesus  baptized 
not,  but  His  disciples."  After  they  had  been  longer 
with  Him  and  attained  to  some  degree  of  Christian 
maturity,  He  sent  them  forth  to  labour  on  their 
own  account.  They  made  tours,  perhaps  of  no 
great  extent,  preaching  and  healing,  and  then 
returned  to  tell  Him  "  all  things,  both  what  they 
had  done  and  what  they  had  taught,"  and  to  receive 
instructions  for  further  operations.  In  this  way  the 
ground  was  sometimes  broken  up  by  the  disciples 
before  the  Master  came  to  sow  it  with  the  seed  of 
eternal  life  ;  and  perhaps  regions  were  overtaken 
which    He  had   not   time  to  visit   in  person.     But 


CHRIST  AS  A    TEACHER.  273 

above  all,  their  powers  were  being  developed  and 
their  faith  strengthened  in  view  of  the  day,  which 
He  foresaw,  when  they  would  find  themselves  left 
alone  face  to  face  with  the  task  of  founding  the 
Church   and  conquering   the    world    in    His   name. 

It  is  one  of  the  characteristics  of  genuine  Chris- 
tianity, that  it  gives  us  an  interest  not  only  in 
the  great  events  of  the  past,  but  also  in  the  history 
of  the  future.  The  average  man  cares  little  for  the 
future,  except  so  far  perhaps  as  his  own  offspring 
may  be  concerned :  if  he  is  happy,  what  does  it 
matter  to  him  what  the  state  of  the  world  will 
be  after  he  is  dead  }  But  to  a  Christian  it  does 
matter.  The  faith  and  love  in  his  heart  bind  him 
to  the  saints  yet  unborn.  He  is  interested  in  a 
cause  which  is  to  go  on  after  he  has  left  it,  and 
which  he  is  to  meet  and  take  up  again  at  a  sub- 
sequent stage  of  his  existence.  It  is  almost  as 
important  to  him  how  the  work  of  Christ  will 
be  prospering  when  he  is  in  his  grave  as  how  it 
is  prospering  now.  This  ought  to  make  us  think 
anxiously  of  those  who  are  to  be  doing  our  work 
after  we  have  left  it.  Christ  thought  of  this  from 
the  very  commencement  of  His  own  activity ;  and 
it    was    not   too  soon. 

A  man  may  do  more  for  a  cause  by  bringing 
younger  forces  into  its   service  and  training  them  to 

I8 


274  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


their  work  than  by  lavishing  on  it  every  moment 
of  his  own  time  and  every  atom  of  his  eneigy.  I 
was  recently  reading  a  monograph  on  the  history 
of  a  particular  branch  of  medicine  ;  and  intensely 
interesting  it  was  to  trace  the  progress  from  the 
beginning  of  knowledge  among  the  Greek  naturalists 
down  through  the  Arab  physicians  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  till  one  came  to  the  vast  and  daily  multiplying 
discoveries  of  modern  science.  But  the  name  in 
the  whole  succession  which  chiefly  arrested  my 
attention  was  that  of  one  whose  contributions  had 
been  very  large,  but  who  acknowledged  that  they 
had  not  been  strictly  his  own.  He  was  always 
surrounded  by  a  group  of  young  physicians  whom 
he  inspired  with  enthusiasm  for  his  subject ;  then 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  giving  them  single  points  of 
obscurity  to  investigate  ;  and  it  was  by  the  accumu- 
lation of  these  detailed  studies  that  he  was  able 
to  make  vast  additions  to  science.  We  need 
nothing  more  pressingly  in  the  Christian  Church  at 
present  than  men  who  will  thus  guide  the  young 
and  the  willing  to  their  work,  showing  what  needs 
to  be  done  and  adapting  talent  to  task.  By  taking 
up  this  function  of  the  teacher,  many  a  man  might 
bring  into  the  service  of  Christ  those  whose  contribu- 
tions would  far  surpass  his  own,  as  Barnabas  did, 
when  he  brought  into  the  Church  the  services  of  Paul 


CHRIST  AS  A    TEACHER.  375 

IV. 

Perhaps  in  our  modern  life  the  work  most  closely 
resembling  the  work  of  Jesus  as  a  teacher  is  that 
of  a  professor  of  divinity.*  The  students  in  our 
theological  seminaries  and  colleges  are  at  the  same 
stage  as  the  Twelve  were  before  they  were  sent  forth 
on  their  independent  course  ;  and  the  intercourse 
between  Christ  and  the  Twelve,  if  carefully  studied, 
would  throw  much  light  on  the  relationship  between 
professors  and  students. 

To  the  Twelve  the  most  valuable  part  of  their 
connection  with  Christ  was  simply  the  privilege  of 
being  with  Him — of  seeing  that  marvellous  life 
day  by  day,  and  daily  receiving  the  silent,  almost 

*  In  The  Public  Ministry  and  Pastoral  Methods  of  our  Lord 
Professor  Blaikie  heads  a  chapter,  "  The  College  of  the  Twelve." 
He  also  suggests  another  analogy :  "  A  young  minister,  for 
example,  may  try  to  multiply  himself  by  means  of  the  young 
men  of  his  flock.  Some  have  a  rare  gift  of  finding  out  the  most 
susceptible  of  these — getting  them  about  them  in  classes  and 
meetings,  and  perhaps  sometimes  in  walks  and  at  meals — ex- 
plaining to  them  their  plans,  infusing  into  them  their  enthusiasm, 
enlisting  their  sympathies,  and  drawing  out  their  talents.  .  .  .  Dr. 
Chalmers  in  Glasgow,  gathering  young  men  around  him,  pouring 
his  own  views  and  spirit  into  them,  rousing  them  to  aid  in  his 
territorial  schemes,  and  thus  training  the  youths  who  in  after 
years  became  the  elite  of  the  Christian  laity  of  the  west,  comes  as 
near  as  may  be  on  a  mere  common  level  to  the  example  of  Christ 
and  His  Twelve." 


876  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


unobserved,  impress  of  His  character,  St.  John, 
reflecting  on  this  three  years'  experience  long  after- 
wards, summed  it  up  by  saying,  "  We  beheld  His 
glory  I "  The  word  he  uses  denotes  the  shekinah 
that  shone  above  the  mercy-seat.  In  those  lonely 
walks  through  Phoenicia  and  Peraea,  in  those  close 
talks  on  the  hills  of  Galilee,  they  often  felt  that  the 
holy  of  holies  was  being  opened  to  them,  and  that 
they  were  gazing  on  the  beauty  that  is  ineffable. 

The  chief  defect  perhaps  of  theological  train- 
ing, as  it  is  practised  at  present,  is  the  lack  of 
this  close  intercourse  between  the  teacher  and  the 
taught.  Few  professors  have  attempted  it  on  any 
considerable  scale.  It  would,  indeed,  be  trying 
work.  No  eyes  are  so  keen  as  those  of  students. 
If  admitted  close  to  a  man,  they  take  immediate 
stock  of  his  resources.  They  are  hero-worshippers 
when  they  believe  in  a  professor  ;  but  their  scorn 
is  unmeasured  if  they  disbelieve  in  him.  They  can 
be  dazzled  by  a  reputation  ;  but  only  massiveness 
of  character  and  thoroughness  of  attainment  can  be 
sure  of  permanently  impressing  them. 

I  know  of  only  one  man  in  recent  times  who 
threw  himself  without  fear  or  reserve  into  the  most 
intimate  relations  with  students.  His  conduct  was 
so  Christ-like  and  is  so  great  an  example,  that  it  is 
worthy  of  being  commemorated  here 


CHRIST  AS  A    TEACHER.  277 

Professor  Tholuck  is  well  known,  by  name  at 
least,  to  all  who  have  any  tincture  of  theological 
knowledge.  His  numerous  works  in  exegesis  and 
apologetics  give  him  a  high  place  among  the 
evangelical  theologians  of  the  century.  He  ranks 
still  higher  as  a  reforming  force.  What  Wesley 
did  for  the  Church  of  England,  and  Chalmers  for 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  and  Vinet  for  the  Church 
of  Switzerland,  he  may  be  said  to  have  done  for  the 
Church  of  Germany  :  he  fought  down  and  annihi- 
lated the  old  Rationalism,  which  corresponded  to 
our  Moderatism,  and  during  the  first  decades  of  this 
century  made  evangelical  religion  a  respected  and 
waxing   power   in    the   land.* 

But  the  method  by  which  he  chiefly  accomplished 
this  is  what  will  entitle  him  to  lasting  remem- 
brance in  the  Church  of  God.  No  sooner  was  he 
converted  and  settled  down  to  his  work  as  an 
academic  teacher,   than   he  at  once  began   to  seek 


•  The  great  name  of  Schleiermacher  will  doubtless  occur  to 
many  as  desemng  to  occupy  this  place;  and  it  would  be  difficult 
to  overestimate  the  profundity  and  extent  of  his  influence.  But 
to  me  at  least  the  Life  of  Tholuck  (by  Witte,  1886)  has  been  a 
revelation  as  to  what  were  the  real  sources  of  the  Evangelical  Re- 
vival in  Germany.  Schleiermacher  intellectualised  the  movement 
and  became  the  scientihc  guide  of  those  who  had  been  spiritually 
quickened ;  but  the  quickening  itself,  on  which  in  the  last  resort 
all  depended,  was  largely  due  to  humbler  instrumentalities. 


278  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


intercourse  with  his  students  of  a  kind  most 
unusual  in  Germany.  Not  satisfied  with  merely 
lecturing  from  his  chair,  he  made  himself  personally 
acquainted  with  them  all,  with  the  view  of  winning 
them  to  Christ.  He  invited  them  to  walk  with 
him  ;  he  visited  them  in  their  lodgings  ;  he  gathered 
them  in  his  rooms  two  evenings  a  week  for  prayer, 
study  of  the  Scriptures  and  reports  of  missionary 
enterprise.  As  time  went  on  and  his  classes  grew, 
this  became  a  task  of  portentous  dimensions.  But 
his  devotion  to  it  never  relaxed.  At  the  busiest 
period  of  his  life,  when  he  was  preparing  lectures 
which  filled  his  class-room  with  crowds  of  students 
and  publishing  the  books  which  won  him  a  world- 
wide reputation,  he  regularly  spent  four  hours  a  day 
walking  with  students,  besides  having  one  student 
at  dinner  with  him  and  another  at  supper. 

It  was  not  superficial  work.  It  bore  no  resem- 
blance to  the  method  of  some  who  think  they  have 
dealt  with  a  man  about  his  spiritual  concerns  when 
they  have  once  forced  the  subject  of  religion  into  con- 
versation without  preparation-  He  often  found  the 
approaches  to  the  mind  of  the  student  very  difficult  and 
had  to  begin  far  out  on  the  circumference  of  things. 
He  was  full  of  geniality  and  overflowed  with  humour  ; 
he  tried  the  students'  wits  with  the  oddest  questions, 
and  those  who  had  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  walking 


CHR1S7   AS  A    TEACHER.  379 

with  him  would  retail  for  weeks  afterwards  the  quips 
and  sallies  in  which  he  had  indulged.  He  was  full 
of  intellectual  interest,  knew  how  to  draw  every  man 
out  on  the  subjects  with  which  he  was  acquainted, 
and  could  give  invaluable  hints  on  books  and 
methods  of  study.  He  endeavoured  to  rouse  and 
stimulate  the  mind  from  every  side,  and  many 
owed  to  b.im  their  mental  as  well  as  their  spiritual 
awakening.  He  did  not  neglect  the  body  either  :  no 
professor  in  Germany  did  so  much  to  help  on  poor 
students.  Yet,  all  the  time,  he  had  his  eye  on  one 
object  and  was  drifting  steadily  towards  it — the< 
personal  salvation  of  every  student  with  whom  he 
had  to  deal. 

He  had  his  reward.  It  was  known  in  his  lifetime 
that  his  success  had  been  great  ;  but  it  is  only  by 
the  publication  of  his  biography  that  it  has  been 
made  known  how  great  it  was.  Among  his  papers 
were  found  hundreds  of  letters  from  students  and 
ministers  owning  him  as  their  spiritual  father  ;  and 
it  turns  out  that  among  his  converts  were  some  of 
the  most  illustrious  names  in  the  German  literary 
history  of  the  century.  In  the  pulpits  and  pro- 
fessorial chairs  of  Germany  there  are  at  present 
hundreds  working  for  the  evangel  who  owe  their 
souls  to  him. 

Why  does  such  a  life  seem  to  us  so  original  and 


28o  IMAGO  CHRISTL 


exceptional  ?  Why  is  it  not  repeated  in  other 
spheres — in  the  office,  the  shop  and  the  school,  as 
well  as  in  the  Church  and  the  university  ?  Tholuck 
explained  the  secret  of  his  life  in  a  single 
sentence:  "  I  have  but  one  passion,  and  that  is 
Christ." 


XV. 
CHRIST  AS  A  CONTROVERSIALIST 


Matt.  V.  21-48.  Luke  vii.  36-50. 

„      ix.  10-13.  M     X.  25-37. 

„      xii.  24-45.  „      xi.  37-54- 

„      XV.  I-14.  „      xii.  I. 

„      xvi.  1-4.  „      xiii.  1 1- 17. 

„       xix.  3-12. 

„      xxi.  23-46.  John  it.  18-20. 

„      xxii.  „      V. 

„      xxiii.  „      vi.  41-65. 

„      vii.  10-53. 

„      viii.  12-59. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

CHRIST  AS  A   CONTROVERSIALIST. 

'TPHE  ministers  of  the  temple  of  truth,  it  has  been 
-*-  said,  are  of  three  kinds  :  first,  those  stationed  at 
the  gate  of  the  temple  to  constrain  the  passers-by  to 
come  in;  secondly,  those  whose  function  is  to  accom- 
pany inside  all  who  have  been  persuaded  to  enter, 
and  display  and  explain  to  them  the  treasures  and 
secrets  of  the  place  ;  and,  thirdly,  those  whose  duty 
is  to  patrol  round  the  temple,  keeping  watch  and 
ward  and  defending  the  shrine  from  the  attacks  of 
enemies.  We  are  only  speaking  very  roughly  if  we 
say  that  the  first  of  these  three  functions  is  that  of 
the  Preacher,  the  second  that  of  the  Teacher,  and  the 
third  that  of  the  Controversialist. 

I. 

At  the  present  time  controversy  has  an  evil  name; 
the  mere  mention  of  it  excites  alarm ;  and  the  image 
of  the  controversialist,  in  most  people's  minds,  is  any- 
thing but  an  amiable  or  admired  figure.     He  who  is 


2^4  Imago  christi. 


called  in  providence  to  undertake  the  function  of 
controversy  can  reckon  less  than  almost  any  other 
servant  of  Christ  on  the  sympathy  and  appreciation 
of  Christ's  people  ;  for  even  those  who  agree  with 
his  view  of  the  truth  will  be  sorry  that  he  has 
allowed  himself  to  enter  the  atmosphere  of  strife, 
and  regret  that  he  has  not  rested  content  with 
other  kinds  of  work.  This  temper  of  mind  of  the 
Christian  public  has  had  its  natural  result.  Able 
men  are  shy  of  undertaking  work  of  this  kind, 
easily  finding  employment  for  their  talents  in 
other  directions,  where  labour  is  more  appreciated. 
Controversy  has  accordingly  fallen  to  a  large  ex- 
tent into  the  hands  of  inferior  practitioners;  and 
it  would  be  easy  to  mention  controversies  acknow- 
ledged to  be  of  vital  consequence  to  the  welfare  of 
the  Church  which  do  not  receive  the  support  of 
the  champions  whose  advocacy  would  lend  them 
dignity  in  the  eyes  of  men. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  this  state  of  public 
feeling  back  to  its  causes;  for  without  doubt  there 
are  good  reasons  for  it.  It  would  probably  be  found 
to  be  a  reaction  from  the  temper  of  a  time  when 
controversy  was  carried  to  excess  ;  for,  although  an 
important  function  of  the  Church,  controversy  is 
far  from  being  the  most  important ;  and  that  which 
in  due  proportion  is  wholesome  may  in  excess  be 


CHRIST  AS  A    CONTROVERSIALIST.  285 

poisonous.  In  their  zeal  for  truth  good  men  have 
sometimes  forgotten  to  be  zealous  for  charity.  Con- 
troversy has  raged  round  small  points,  on  which 
Christians  might  well  agree  to  differ,  with  a  heat 
and  violence  which  would  only  have  been  justified 
had  the  hearths  and  altars  been  at  stake.  When 
men  thus  indulge  their  passions,  they  lose  from  their 
own  minds  the  sense  of  proportion,  and,  having 
expended  their  superlatives  on  objects  of  trifling 
importance,  they  have  not  the  use  of  them  when 
subjects  emerge  to  which  they  would  be  really 
applicable.  They  also  lose  their  hold  on  others  ;  for 
the  public  mind,  having  been  flogged  into  fury  over 
questions  which  it  afterwards  discovers  were  not 
worth  fighting  about,  refuses  to  stir  even  when  the 
citadel  is  in  danger.  Thus  has  the  Church  to 
expiate   her  mistakes. 

Yet  it  is  no  good  sign  of  the  times  that  contro- 
versy should  be  looked  down  upon.  As  has  been 
mentioned  in  the  Preface  to  this  book,  we  have  had 
to  refrain  from  printing  in  full  the  evidence,  from  the 
Gospels,  of  the  conduct  of  Jesus  in  the  different 
departments  of  life  ;  but,  had  this  been  done,  the 
bulkiest  of  all  these  bodies  of  evidence  would  have 
been  the  appendix  to  the  present  chapter.  In  the 
records  of  His  life  we  have  pages  upon  pages  of 
controversy.     It  may  have  been  far  from  the  work 


286  IMAGO   CHRIST!, 

in  which  He  delighted  most  to  be  engaged ;  but 
He  had  to  undertake  it  all  through  His  life,  and 
especially  towards  the  close.  The  most  eminent  of 
His  servants  in  every  age  have  had  to  do  the  same. 
St.  Paul  may  not  have  been  indisposed  by  nature  to 
throw  himself  into  controversy;  but  St.  John  had  to 
enter  into  it  with  equal  earnestness.  It  is  scarcely 
possible  to  mention  a  representative  man  in  any 
section  of  the  Christian  Church  in  any  age  who  has 
been  able  altogether  to  avoid  it. 

The  spirit  of  the  true  controversialist  is  the  joyful 
and  certain  sense  of  possessing  the  truth,  and  the 
conviction  of  its  value  to  all  men,  which  makes  error 
hateful  and  inspires  the  determination  to  sweep  it 
away.*  It  was  as  the  King  of  Truth  t  that  Christ 
carried  on  controversy,  and   He  was  borne  along  by 

*  "  Late  in  life  he  (Mozley)  speculated  on  the  controversial 
temper  with  an  evident  though  unacknowledged  sense  of  ex- 
perience. He  did  not  appear  to  estimate  it  over-highly,  further 
than  as  he  considered  it  now  to  be  rare.  The  contrary  tem- 
perament was  dealt  with  tenderly — the  one  that  really  needs  the 
agreement  of  those  around  it,  that  has  a  sense  of  discomfort  and 
privation  without  it,  that  must  act  with  others ;  but  the  true 
controversial  spirit,  that  which,  strong  in  the  feeling  of  possession, 
of  a  firm  hold  of  its  own  view,  rises  with  opposition  or  neglect, 
which  can  stand  alone,  ready  as  it  were  for  all  comers,  this  was 
the  temper  that,  as  he  defined  it,  his  nature  evidently  responded 
to." — Introduction  to  Mozley' s  Essays. 

t  John  xviii.  37. 


CHRIST  AS  A    CONTROVERSIALIST,  287 

the  generous  passion  to  cut  His  fellow-men  out  from 
their  imprisonment  in  the  labyrinth  of  error.  Ex- 
cessive aversion  to  controversy  may  be  an  indication 
that  a  Church  has  no  keen  sense  of  possessing  truth 
which  is  of  any  great  worth,  and  that  it  has  lost 
appreciation  for  the  infinite  difference  in  value 
between    truth   and   error. 

II. 

There  are  differences,  indeed,  in  the  present  feeling 
of  the  public  mind  to  different  kinds  of  controversy. 
One  of  the  tasks  of  controversy  is  to  combat  error 
outside  of  the  Church.  Christianity  is  incessantly 
assailed  by  forms  of  unbelief,  which  arise  one  after 
another  and  have  their  day.  At  one  time  it  is 
Deism  which  requires  to  be  refuted,  at  another 
Pantheism,  at  another  Materialism.  To  defend  the 
temple  of  Christian  truth  from  such  assailants  is  popu- 
lar enough  and  meets  with  perhaps  even  excessive 
rewards.  This  kind  of  controversy  is  accordingly 
much  cultivated  and  sometimes  may  be  indulged 
in  where  it  is  not  needed.  When  it  is  of  the  right 
quality,  however,  its  value  cannot  be  overestimated ; 
and  at  the  present  moment  it  requires  the  very 
highest  talent,  for  the  apologetic  problems  of  our 
century  have  not  yet  been  solved. 

It  is  controversy  within  the  Church  which  excites 


288  IMAGO   CHRIST/, 


alarm  and  aversion.  Yet  the  controversy  which  our 
Lord  waged  was  inside  the  Church ;  and  so  has 
been  that  carried  on  by  the  most  eminent  of  His 
followers.  It  would,  indeed,  be  well  if  the  sound 
of  controversial  weapons  were  never  heard  in  the 
temple  of  peace  ;  but  only  on  condition  that  it  is 
also  a  temple  of  truth.  In  the  time  of  Christ  it  was 
the  stronghold  of  error ;  and  not  once  or  twice  since 
then  it  has  been  the  same.  Jesus  had  to  assail  nearly 
the  whole  ecclesiastical  system  of  His  time  and  a 
large  body  of  the  Church's  doctrines.  To  do  so 
must,  to  a  thoughtful  mind,  in  any  circumstances  be 
an  extremely  painful  task  ;  for  the  faith  reposed  in 
their  spiritual  guides  by  the  mass  of  men,  who  have 
little  leisure  or  ability  to  think  out  vast  subjects  to 
the  bottom,  is  one  of  the  most  sacred  pillars  of  the 
edifice  of  human  life;  and  nothing  can  be  more 
criminal  than  wantonly  to  shake  it.  But  it  some- 
times needs  to  be  shaken,  and  Jesus  did  so. 

Of  course  the  opposite  case  may  easily  occur  :  the 
Church  may  have  the  truth,  and  the  innovator  may 
be  in  error.  Then  the  true  place  of  the  Christian 
controversialist  is  on  the  side  of  the  Church  against 
him  who  is  trying  to  mislead  her.  This  also  is  a 
delicate  task,  requiring  the  utmost  Christian  wisdom 
and  sometimes  likely  to  be  repaid  with  little  thanks; 
for,  while  he  who  defends  the  Church  against  error 


CHRIST  AS  A    CONTROVERSIALIST.  2S9 

coming  from  the  outside  is  loaded  with  honours  as 
a  saviour  of  the  faith,  he  who  attempts  to  preserve 
her  from  more  menacing  danger  within  may  be 
dismissed  with  the  odious  and  withering  title  of 
heresy-hunter.  But  it  is  not  easy  to  see  what  ethical 
standing-ground  there  is  to  the  competent  Christian 
man  between  either,  on  the  one  hand,  attacking  the 
Church  himself  as  heretical  or,  on  the  other,  being 
prepared  to  defend  her  from  accusations  of  not 
teaching  the  truth. 

III. 

Christ  and  the  Jewish  teachers  with  whom  He 
contended  had  a  common  standard  and  test  of  con- 
troversies to  which  they  appealed.  Both  acknow- 
ledged the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament  to  be 
the  Word  of  God.  As  this  gave  a  peculiar  colouring 
to  all  His  work  among  the  Jewish  people,  whom  He 
addressed  as  He  could  not  have  preached  to  any 
other  nation,  so  also  it  immensely  simphfied  His 
work  as  a  controversialist.  His  superiority  con- 
sisted in  His  more  intimate  familiarity  with  thia 
standard  to  which  they  both  appealed.  They  were, 
indeed,  the  learned  men  of  the  nation,  and  the  Old 
Testament  was  their  text-book ;  while  He,  as  they 
liked  to  remind  Him,  had  never  learned.  But  His 
intense  love  for  the  Word  of  His  Father   and   His 

19 


290  IMAGO   CHRISTl. 


life-long  diligence  in  searching  it  made  Him  far 
more  than  a  match  for  them  on  their  own  ground 
Out  of  the  stores  of  memory  He  could  fetch  the 
passage  which  was  needed  on  every  occasion  ;  and, 
as  He  brought  forth  the  word  which  was  to  over- 
throw their  argument,  He  would  sometimes  taunt 
them,  who  boasted  of  their  acquaintance  with  the 
Bible,  by  beginning  His  quotation  with  the  question, 
"  Have  ye  never  read  ?  "  At  other  times,  in  a  more 
solemn  mood,  He  would  tell  them  plainly,  "  Ye  do 
err,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures." 

He  did  not,  however,  trust  merely  to  His  know- 
ledge of  the  letter  of  Scripture.  This  is  the  method 
of  the  small  controversialist,  who  is  satisfied  if  he  can 
always  meet  text  with  text  and  if  at  the  end  he  has 
one  text  more  than  his  opponent.  Such  controversy 
is  barren  as  the  sand  of  the  sea  driven  with  the 
wind  and  has  no  more  value  than  the  bickerings 
of  kites  and  crows.  It  is  this  kind  of  controversy 
which  has  brought  the  controversial  function  of  the 
Church  into  contempt.  In  the  true  controversialist 
there  is  more  than  mere  familiarity  with  the  text  of 
Scripture  :  he  has  a  grasp  of  scriptural  principles,  a 
religious  experience  of  his  own  which  interprets  the 
Scripture,  and  a  nearness  to  God  which  imparts 
earnestness  and  dignity  to  his  work. 

The  mind  of  Jesus   stood   thus  above  the  mere 


CHRIST  AS  A    CONTROVERSIALIST.  291 

letter  of  Scripture  and  handled  it  with  consummate 
ease  and  freedom.  This  was  why  He  scarcely  ever 
quoted  a  text  of  the  Old  Testament  without  reveal- 
ing a  new  meaning  in  it.  It  was  as  if  His  touch 
split  it  asunder  and  showed  the  gem  flashing  at  its 
heart.  Sometimes  He  would  gather  a  principle  from 
the  general  scope  of  Scripture  which  seemed  to  dis- 
solve and  even  contradict  the  mere  letter.*  While 
loving  and  reverencing  the  Word  of  His  Father  with 
His  whole  soul,  He  knew  Himself  to  be  the  organ 
of  a  revelation  in  which  the  older  one  was  to  be 
merged,  as  the  light  of  the  stars  is  lost  in  the  dawn 
of  the  morning. 

But  it  was  not  with  Scripture  alone  that  Jesus 
operated  as  a  controversialist.  There  is  an  appeal 
to  the  common  sense  and  to  the  reason  of  men — 
an  appeal  away  from  the  mere  pedantry  of  learning 
and  the  citation  of  authorities — which  every  contro- 
versialist of  real  mark  must  be  able  to  make.  And, 
if  it  can  be  made  in  a  flash  of  wit  or  in  an  epigram 
which  stamps  itself  instantly  on  the  memory,  the 
effect  is  irresistible,  when  the  controversy  is  carried 
on  before  popular  judges.  Jesus  possessed  this 
power  in  the  highest  degree,  as  many  of  His  sayings 
show.     One  of  the  most  striking  is  this,  at  which 

•  E.g.,  Matt.  V.  31,  33. 


293  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


**  they  marvelled,  and  left  Him,  and  went  their  way  " : 
'*  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's 
and  unto  God  the  things  which  are  God's." 

IV. 

In  any  exposition  of  the  ethics  of  controversy  at 
the  present  day,  a  prominent  place  would  be  given 
to  the  duty  of  treating  opponents  with  consideration. 
However  severely  their  arguments  may  be  handled, 
their  persons  ought  to  be  treated  with  respect,  and 
they  should  receive  credit  for  honourable  motives. 

No  rule  could  be  more  reasonable.  We  know 
but  little  of  our  fellow-men  at  the  best,  and,  when 
anything  inflames  us  against  them,  it  is  easy  to  be 
blinded  by  prejudice  to  their  excellences.  On  the 
other  hand,  we  know  so  much  about  ourselves  that  we 
may  well  hesitate  to  cast  stones  at  others.  No  man 
has  all  the  truth,  and  an  opponent  may  be  seeing  a 
side  of  it  which  we  cannot  see.  God  sometimes 
gets  the  whole  truth  given  to  the  Church  only  by  the 
halves  of  it,  held  by  different  minds,  meeting  at  first 
in  conflict.  The  fire  generated  by  their  collision 
unites  them  at  last  in  perfect  fusion.* 

•  "  They  that  purify  silver  to  the  purpose,  use  to  put  it  in  the 
fire  again  and  again,  that  it  may  be  thoroughly  tried.  So  is  the 
truth  of  God  ;  there  is  scarce  any  truth  but  hath  been  tried  over 
and  over  again,  and  still  if  any  dross  happen  to  mingle  with  it, 


CHRIST  AS  A    CONTROVERSIALIST.  293 

Yet,  excellent  as  this  rule  is,  it  is  not  without 
exceptions  ;  for  Jesus  broke  it.  We  have  not  enough 
information  to  know  whether  or  not  at  the  begin- 
ning of  His  career  He  treated  His  opponents  with 
more  consideration  ;  but,  towards  the  end  of  His 
life,  He  exposed  them  with  more  and  more  keen- 
ness, and  at  last  He  poured  on  Pharisees,  scribes 
and  priests  a  torrent  of  scorn  never  equalled  in  its 
withering  and  annihilating  vehemence.* 

In  point  of  fact,  our  estimate  of  the  characters  of 
men  exercises  an  important  influence  on  the  value 
we  set  on  their  opinions.  We  may  not  be  able  to 
express  it  in  public,  yet  in  secret  we  may  know  that 
about  an  opponent  which  robs  his  opinions  of  all 
weight.  He  may  be  writing  or  speaking  confidently 
on  religious  subjects,  while  we  know   him   to  be  a 


then  God  calls  it  in  question  again.  If  in  former  times  there 
have  been  Scriptures  alleged  that  have  not  been  pertinent  to 
prove  it,  that  truth  shall  into  the  fire  again,  that  what  is  dross 
may  be  burnt  up  ;  the  Holy  Ghost  is  so  curious,  so  delicate,  so 
exact,  He  cannot  bear  that  falsehood  should  be  mingled  with  the 
truths  of  the  Gospel.  That  is  the  reason,  therefore,  why  that 
God  doth  still,  age  after  age,  call  former  things  in  question, 
because  that  there  is  still  some  dross  one  way  or  other  mingled 
with  them  ;  either  in  the  stating  the  opinions  themselves,  or  else 
in  the  Scriptures  that  are  brought  and  alleged  for  them,  that 
have  passed  for  current,  for  He  will  never  leave  till  He  have 
purified  them." — Thomas  Goodwin. 
*  Matt,  xxiii. 


294  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


thoroughly  irreligious  man,  who  has  not  the  very 
faculty  on  which  true  insight  in  such  matters  de- 
pends, and  who  could  not  afford  to  confess  the 
truth,  even  if  he  knew  it,  because  it  would  condemn 
himself  at  every  point.  It  may  in  certain  circum- 
stances be  a  duty  to  make  this  public.  Jesus  often 
told  the  Jewish  teachers  that  it  was  impossible  for 
them  to  understand  Him,  because  they  lacked  moral 
sympathy  with  the  truth  ;  and  the  interests  of 
priests  and  Pharisees  were  vested  in  the  system  of 
hypocrisy  which  their  arguments  were  invented  to 
defend.  Our  judgments  in  such  cases  are  liable  to 
be  mistaken  ;  but  He  could  completely  trust  His 
own  ;  and  at  last  He  broke  all  the  authority  of  His 
opponents  by  thoroughly  exposing  their  character. 

V. 

In  the  very  rush  of  the  controversial  onset,  how- 
ever, Jesus  would  pause  to  note  and  acknowledge  a 
better  spirit,  if  any  sign  of  candour  showed  itself 
in  an  opponent. 

There  was  a  day  of  fierce  conflict  in  His  life 
tc  which  the  Evangelists  devote  close  attention.  It 
was  one  of  the  days  of  the  last  week  before  He 
suffered,  and  a  combination  of  a  most  formidable 
character  took  place  among  His  enemies,  to  con- 
fute   Him   and    put    Him   down.     The  scribes  and 


CHRIST  AS  A    CONTROVERSIALIST.  295 

Pharisees  were  there  of  course  ;  even  the  Sadducees, 
who  in  general  neglected  Him,  had  come  out  of 
their  haughty  retirement  ;  and  Pharisees  and  Hero- 
dians,  who  generally  hated  one  another,  were  for 
once  united  in  a  common  purpose.  They  had 
arranged  well  beforehand  the  questions  with  which 
they  were  to  try  Him  ;  they  had  chosen  their 
champions ;  and  one  after  another  they  delivered 
their  assaults  upon  Him  in  the  Temple.  But  it 
was  for  them  a  day  of  disaster  and  humiliation  ; 
for  He  refuted  them  so  conclusively  that  "  no 
man  was  able  to  answer  Him  a  word  ;  neither 
durst  any  man  from  that  day  forth  ask  Him  any 
more  questions." 

In  the  very  midst,  however,  of  this  exciting  scene 
a  controversialist  arose  to  whom  Jesus  extended 
very  different  treatment  than  to  the  rest.  The  man 
appears  to  have  known  comparatively  little  about 
Christ,  except  that  He  was  one  who  was  everywhere 
spoken  against.  But  he  was  a  scribe,  and,  as  his 
party  was  attacking  Christ,  he  was  drawn  into  the 
same  attitude.  He  looked  upon  Him  as  a  misleader 
of  the  people,  who  deserved  to  be  put  down,  and  he 
had  come  to  do  so.  Yet  the  answers  which  he 
heard  Jesus  giving  before  his  own  turn  came  shook 
him  ;  for  they  were  right  answers,  which  by  no 
means  confirmed  the  impressions  of  Christ  which  he 


296  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


had  brought  to  the  spot.  Some  such  acknowledg- 
ment seems  to  have  been  conveyed  in  the  tone  of 
his  own  question,  when  he  put  it. 

It  was,  indeed,  but  a  paltry  question,  "  Which  is 
the  first  commandment  of  all  ? "  This  was  one  of 
the  subjects  on  which  in  the  rabbinical  schools 
they  were  wont  to  chop  logic,  and  the  man  pro- 
bably considered  that  it  was  one  on  which  he  was 
superior  to  any  other  rabbi.  Jesus,  however,  had 
observed  something  that  pleased  Him  in  the  man's 
look  or  manner,  and,  instead  of  merely  overthrowing 
and  humiliating  him,  as  He  had  done  to  the  others, 
He  gave  him  a  full  and  earnest  answer :  "  The 
first  of  all  the  commandments  is,  Hear,  O  Israel  ; 
The  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord  :  and  thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with 
all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind  :  this  is  the  first 
commandment.  And  the  second  is  like,  namely 
this,  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 
There  is  none  other  commandment  greater  than 
these." 

To  us  this  is  familiar  teaching,  and  it  falls  on  our 
senses  without  making  much  impression.  But  it  is 
not  difficult  to  conceive  with  what  irresistible  power 
and  majesty  it  may  have  fallen  on  a  mind  which 
heard  it  for  the  first  time.  It  seems  to  have  thrown 
the  man  completely  out  of  the  cavilling  attitude  into 


CHRIST  AS  A    CONTROVERSIALIST.  297 

one  of  intense  moral  earnestness.  It  not  only  smote 
his  arguments  down,  but  burst  open  the  doors  of 
his  being  and  went  straight  to  his  conscience,  which 
sent  back  the  echo  instantaneously  and  clearly : 
"  Well,  Master,  Thou  hast  said  the  truth  :  for  there 
is  one  God ;  and  there  is  none  other  but  He :  and 
to  love  Him  with  all  the  heart,  and  with  all  the 
understanding,  and  with  all  the  soul,  and  with  all 
the  strength,  and  to  love  his  neighbour  as  himself, 
is  more  than  all  whole  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices." 

This  was  a  noble  answer.  The  man  had  forgotten 
the  role  he  had  come  to  play  ;  he  had  forgotten  his 
comrades,  and  what  they  were  expecting  of  him  ;  he 
let  his  heart  speak  and  did  homage  to  the  moral 
dignity  of  Christ.  Jesus  marked  the  change  with 
deep  inward  satisfaction  and  said  to  him,  "  Thou 
art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God." 

This  is  a  great  example.  To  attack  them 
remorselessly  in  controversy  often  drives  into  per- 
manent opposition  those  who  might  be  won  by 
milder  treatment.  Men  may  appear  as  opponents 
of  Christianity  who  in  their  hearts  are  very  near 
it ;  and  it  is  Christ-like  to  detect  this  sympathy 
and  bring  it  to  expression.  To  prove  to  men 
that  they  are  outside  the  kingdom  is  an  easy  thing 
in  comparison  ;  but  it  may  be  far  better  to  let 
them    see    that    they   are    only   a  few    steps  from 


298  IMAGO   CHRIST!. 


its  threshold.  The  triumph  of  a  ruthless  polemic 
may  gratify  the  natural  heart ;  but  far  more 
like  the  Master,  where  it  is  possible,  is  a  winning 
irenicum. 


XVI. 

CHRIST  AS  A  MAN  OF  FEELING. 


Matt.  viii.  17.               Matt.  viiL  10.  Matt.  xvi.  23. 

,,     ix.  36.                      „     ix.  2,  28.  „      xvii.  17. 

„     xiv.  14.                    „     xi,  6.  „      xxvi.  50,  55. 

„     XV.  32.                     „     xiii.  58.  Mark  i.  2$. 

„      XX.  34.                     „     xiv.  31.  „      iii.  5. 

Mark  i,  41.                        ,,     xv.  2S.  „      xv.  3,  5. 

„      iv.  33.                     .,     xxvi.  13,  38.  Luke  iv.  35 ;  39-41. 

Luke  vii.  II-15.           Mark  vt.  5,  6.  John  xi.  33-3S. 
„      viii.  12. 
Luke  vii.  9. 
„     xvii.  17. 

Matt,  xxvii.  34.  Matt.  viii.  4. 

Mark  x.  13-16  ;  21.  „      ix.  30. 

„       xii.  34.  „      xii.  16. 

Luke   x.  21.  „      xiv.  22. 

,,      xix.  41.  „      xvi.  20. 

John    viii.  I -I  I.  „      xvii.  9. 

„       xii.  27.  Mark  vii.  24,  36. 

„      xiii.  21.  „      viii.  26,  3a 

M      XX.  16,  17,  John    v.  13. 

„      vi.  15, 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

CHRIST  AS  A   MAN   OF   FEELING. 

OO  much  learning  has  been  expended  in  the  present 
"^  age  on  the  Life  of  Christ,  and  every  particle 
of  the  record  has  been  so  thoroughly  sifted,  that 
it  may  be  questioned  if  mere  intellect  will  now 
discover  much  that  is  new  in  the  subject.  There 
may  still,  however,  be  great  scope  for  the  divina- 
tory  power  of  feeling.*  Jesus  was  as  refined  and 
delicate  in  feeling  as  He  was  wise  in  speech  and 
mighty  in  act ;  and  the  motives  of  His  conduct  are 
often  incomprehensible  except  to  those  who  possess 
in  some  degree  the  same  feelings  as  He  had.      He 

•  No  more  brilliant  instance  of  such  psychological  interpre- 
tation could  be  adduced  than  the  explanation  given  in  Ecce  Homo 
of  our  Lord's  conduct  when  the  woman  taken  in  adultery  was 
brought  to  Him.  "He  stooped  down  and  wrote  on  the  ground" 
(John  viii.  8).  Why  did  He  do  so?  It  was  because  He  was 
ashamed  of  listening  to  a  foul  story.  "He  was  seized  with  an 
intolerable  sense  of  shame.  He  could  not  meet  the  eye  of  the 
crowd,  or  of  the  accusers,  and  perhaps  at  that  moment  least 
of  all  of  the  woman.  .     .  In  His  burning   embarrassment  and 


302  IMAGO   CHRIST  I. 


taught  mankind  to  feel  finely,  and  ever  since  He  was 
in  the  world  there  have  been  increasing  numbers 
who  have  learned  from  Him  to  regard  childhood  and 
woman,  poverty  and  service,  and  many  other  objects, 
with  sentiments  totally  different  from  those  with 
which  they  were  regarded  before  His  advent. 

The  notices  in  the  Gospels  of  the  impressions 
made  on  His  feelings  by  different  situations  in 
which  He  was  placed  are  extraordinarily  numerous  ; 
but  a  single  incident — the  raising  of  the  daughter 
of  Jairus — in  which  the  feelings  of  His  heart  came 
conspicuously  into  view  will  serve  as  a  sufficient 
clue. 

I. 

His  Compassion  was  illustrated  in  this  incident. 

It  was  the  case  of  a  man  whose  only  daughter 
was  lying  at  the  point  of  death  ;  and  he  besought 
Jesus  greatly  for  her,  says  St.  Mark.  The  heart 
of  Jesus  could  not  but  answer  such  an  appeal.      In 

confusion  He  stooped  down  so  as  to  hide  His  face,  and  began 
writing  with  His  finger  on  the  ground."  Everyone  who  reads 
this  explanation  feels  it  to  be  the  true  one;  it  shines  with  its 
own  light ;  and,  when  first  heard,  gives  a  shock  of  delighted 
surprise. 

The  author  adds,  "The  effect  on  Jesus  was  such  as  might 
have  been  produced  upon  many  men  since,  but  perhaps  scarcely 
upon  any  man  that  ever  lived  before." 


CHRIST  AS  A   MAN-  OF  FEELING.  303 


a  similar  instance — that  of  a  woman  with  an  only 
son,  the  widow  of  Nain — it  is  said  that,  when  the 
r,ord  saw  her  following  behind  the  bier,  He  had 
compassion  on  her  and  said  to  her,  "  Weep  not"  He 
not  only  gave  the  required  help  in  such  cases,  but 
gave  it  with  an  amount  of  sympathy  which  doubled 
its  value.  Thus  He  not  only  raised  Lazarus,  but 
wept  with  his  sisters.  In  curing  a  man  who  was 
deaf,  He  sighed  as  He  said,  "  Ephphatha."  All  His 
healing  work  cost  Him  feeling.  There  is  a  great 
difference  between  the  clergyman  or  physician  who 
merely  calls  at  the  house  of  sorrow  as  a  matter  of 
duty,  to  be  able  to  say  that  he  has  been  there,  and 
him  who  takes  the  suffering  of  the  stricken  home 
on  his  heart  and  goes  away  melted  and  broken 
down  with  it. 

On  this  occasion  the  compassion  of  Christ  was 
deepened  by  the  fact  that  it  was  a  child  who  was 
ill.  "  My  little  daughter "  she  was  called  by  her 
father.  All  the  scenes  in  Christ's  life  in  which 
children  appear  are  exquisitely  touching ;  and  it 
was  His  feeling  which  gave  them  their  beauty  and 
pathos.  As  you  look  at  them,  you  feel  that  He 
not  only  knew  all  that  is  in  a  father's  and  a  mother's 
heart,  but  sank  new  wells  in  the  heart  of  humanity 
and  brought  love  up  from  deeper  levels  than  it  had 
sprung  from  before.     Ruskin  has  observed  that  there 


304  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


are  no  children  in  Greek  art,  but  that  they  abound 
in  Christian  art — an  unmistakable  token  that  it  was 
the  eye  of  Christ  which  first  fully  appreciated  the 
attractiveness  of  childhood. 

II. 

A  second  feeling  which  Jesus  showed  in  this 
incident  was  Sensitiveness. 

At  Jairus'  request  He  went  to  the  house  where 
the  dying  girl  was  ;  but  on  the  way  a  messenger 
met  them,  who  told  the  poor  father  that  all  was 
over,  and  that  he  need  not  trouble  the  Master  any 
further.  Whereupon,  without  waiting  to  be  ap- 
pealed to,  Jesus  turned  to  him  and  said,  "  Be  not 
afraid  ;  only  believe." 

In  this  we  might  see  a  new  instance  of  His 
compassion  ;  but  it  also  reveals  something  else : 
Jesus  was  extremely  sensitive  to  the  sentiments  of 
trust  or  distrust  with  which  He  was  regarded.  If 
any  generosity  of  belief  was  shown  towards  Him, 
His  heart  filled  with  gladness,  and  He  acknowledged 
His  gratification  without  stint.  Thus,  when  another 
applicant  for  help,  in  a  situation  not  unlike  that  of 
Jairus,  expressed  his  belief  that,  if  Jesus  would  only 
speak  a  word  even  at  a  distance,  without  going  to 
the  house  in  which  the  sick  person  was  lying,  a  cure 


CHRIST  AS  A   MAN  OF  FEELING.  305 


would  ensue,  Jesus  stood  still  in  the  road  and,  turn- 
ing to  the  bystanders,  exclaimed,  "  I  have  not  found 
so  great  faith,  no,  not  in  Israel."  The  faith  of 
Jairus,  though  not  so  strong  as  this,  had  evidently- 
gratified  Him,  and  it  was  because  He  could  not 
bear  to  have  it  clouded  witli  doubt  that  He  hastened 
so  promptly  to  strengthen  it. 

He  had,  however,  many  an  experience  to  en- 
counter of  the  opposite  kind,  and  the  feeling  thereby 
occasioned  in  Him  was  keen.  If  now  and  then  He 
had  to  marvel  at  the  greatness  of  faith.  He  had  to 
marvel  far  oftener  at  unbelief.  In  His  own  native 
place,  when  He  visited  it,  He  could  do  scarcely  any 
mighty  works  on  this  account.  The  rebuff  so 
chilled  His  heart  that  the  activity  of  His  miraculous 
power  was  restrained.  His  most  signal  favours 
were  sometimes  received  with  ingratitude,  as  in  the 
case  of  the  ten  lepers,  of  whom  only  one  returned  to 
give  thanks  for  his  cure,  causing  Him  to  ask  sadly, 
"  Where  are  the  nine  }  " 

HI. 

A  third  species  of  feeling  which  He  betrayed  on 
this  occasion  was  Indignation. 

When  He  reached  the  house,  not  only  was  the 
child  dead,  but  the  place  had  been  taken  possession 
ot    by   the    mummers   who    undertook  the    ghastly 

2Q 


3o6  2MAG0  CHRISTI. 


ceremonial  of  mourning.  Death,  though  the  most 
solemn  of  all  events,  has  in  many  countries  been 
invested  with  absurdity  through  the  mourning 
customs  with  which  it  has  been  associated  ;  but  in 
Palestine  this  was  carried  to  an  extreme.  As  soon 
as  a  death  took  place,  the  house  was  invaded  by 
professional  mourners,  who  filled  it  with  wild  ulula- 
tions  and  doleful  music.  This  hideous  custom  was 
in  full  operation  when  Jesus  arrived,  and  to  His 
serene  soul  it  was  intolerable.  He  indignantly 
enjoined  silence,  and,  when  this  was  not  forthcoming, 
He  drove  the  whole  ghastly  apparatus  forth  and 
cleared  the  house. 

Indignation,  though  closely  allied  to  sinful  anger, 
is  not  vicious,  but  virtuous.  It  is  the  sign  of  an 
honourable  and  self-respecting  nature.  The  soul 
that  loves  order,  uprightness  and  nobleness  cannot 
but  be  indignant  at  disorder,  duplicity  and  mean- 
ness. The  indignation  of  Jesus  is  often  mentioned. 
It  could  be  aroused  by  unseemly  noise  and  con- 
fusion, as  on  this  occasion.  When  casting  out 
devils,  he  used  angrily  to  rebuke  the  outcries  of  the 
possessed.  He  is  represented  in  the  same  attitude 
when  calming  the  winds  and  waves  in  the  storm, 
presumably  because  He  was  counteracting  the  prince 
of  the  power  of  the  air.  The  whole  empire  of 
Satan  is  the  empire  of  disorder,  and  every  manifes- 


CHRIST  AS  A   MAN  OF  FEELING.  307 

tation  of  its  power  affected  Him  in  this  way.  This 
explains  the  strange  tumult  of  indignant  excitement 
in  which  He  advanced  to  the  grave  of  Lazarus : 
His  condition  of  mind  was  one  of  angry  vengeance 
against  the  ravages  of  death.* 

The  state  of  the  times  in  which  He  lived  afforded 
peculiar  occasion  for  the  display  of  this  sentiment. 
It  was  because  the  mourning  in  the  house  of  Jairus 
was  professional,  with  no  heart  in  it,  that  He  dis- 
liked it  so  utterly.  But  the  society  of  Judsea  at 
that  time  was  one  vast  hypocrisy.  The  holders 
of  sacred  offices  were  self-seekers  ;  the  professors  of 

•  The  story  of  the  raising  of  Lazarus  so  abounds  with  notices 
of  Christ's  emotions  that  we  might  have  taken  it  for  our  clue 
instead  of  the  raising  of  the  daughter  of  Jairus.  As  He  ap- 
proached the  grave  of  Lazarus,  it  is  said  "  He  groaned  in  spirit, 
and  was  troubled ; "  but  the  Greek  words  are  much  stronger : 
lvi^pi\ir\(yaTO  ra  nvevfiaTi  Kai  irapa^ev  eavTov.  The  first  verb 
denotes,  not  groaning,  but  "  visibly-expressed  indignation,  dis- 
pleasure, or  wrath;"  and  the  second  denotes  the  change  in  His 
countenance  caused  by  this  indignation.  "  His  whole  frame 
was  moved.  A  storm  of  wrath  was  seen  to  sweep  over  Him." 
What  was  the  cause  of  this  angry  agitation  ?  "  He  was  gazing 
into  the  skeleton  face  of  the  world,  and  tracing  everywhere  the 
reign  of  death.  The  whole  earth  to  Him  was  but  '  the  valley  of 
the  shadow  of  death  ; '  and  in  those  tears  which  were  shed  in  His 
presence  He  saw  that 

'Ocean  of  Time,  whose  waters  of  deep  woe 
Are  brackish  with  the  salt  of  human  tears.' 

.  .  .  But  this  is  not  all.      Behind  the  presence  of  death  there 


3o8  IMAGO  CHRIST!. 


piety  were  hunting  for  the  praise  of  men  ;  the 
teachers  of  the  people  laid  grievous  burdens  on 
other  men's  shoulders,  which  they  would  not  them- 
selves touch  with  one  of  their  fingers  ;  sacred 
language  was  a  cloak  for  spoliation  and  impurity. 
Jesus  burned  with  indignation  against  it  all  and 
poured  His  feelings  out  in  philippics  against  the 
parties   and    personalities   of  the  time. 

His  was  holy  fire  :  it  was  the  flame  of  truth 
consuming  falsehood,  of  justice  attacking  wrong, 
of  love  burning  against  selfishness.  Too  often  the 
crusade  against  shams  and  hypocrisy  has  been 
inspired  by  zeal  which  is  unholy.  Men  have  under- 
taken the  office  of  the  censor  and  satirist  whose  own 
hearts  have  not  been  pure  and  whose  lives  have 
been  inconsistent,  pluckingthe  mote  out  of  their 
brother's  eye,  and  behold  a  beam  was  in  their  own. 
They   have   only    masqueraded    in    the   garment   of 


was  the  awful  reality,  not  only  of  sin,  '  the  sting  of  death,'  but 
also  of  him  through  whom  sin  came, — him  who  is  in  this  Gospel 
so  frequently  called  '  the  piiace  of  this  world.'  If  then  we  would 
rightly  understand  the  true  meaning  of  our  Lord's  wrath,  His 
visibly-expressed  indignation,  we  must  regard  Him  here  as 
confronting  in  conflict  the  great  enemy  of  His  kingdom, — the 
destroyer  of  the  race  which  He  Himself  had  come  to  save." 

See  a  remarkable  paper  on  this  difficult  passage  by  the  Rev. 
John  Hutchison,  D.D.,  in  the  Monthly  Interpreter,  vol.  iL  (T.  & 
T.  Clark,  1885). 


CHRIST  AS  A    MAN  OF  FEELING.  309 

indignation.  But  this  robe  found  in  Jesus  its 
true  wearer,  and  He  wore  it  with  incomparable 
dignity.  "  Are  ye  come  out,"  He  demanded  of 
those  about  to  arrest  Him,  "as  against  a  thief?" 
"  Judas,"  He  asked  the  traitor,  "  betrayest  thou  the 
Son  of  man  with  a  kiss  ?  "  Before  the  high-priest, 
Pilate  and  Herod  His  indignant  silence  was  more 
eloquent  than  the  most  scorching  words.  He  has 
not  put  off  this  garment  yet :  in  heaven  still  burns 
"  the  wrath   of  the    Lamb." 

IV. 

A  fourth  mode  of  feeling  characteristic  of  Jesus 
which  was  illustrated  on  this  occasion  was  Delicacy. 

Having  put  the  professional  mourners  out,  He 
went  into  the  room  of  death,  where  the  little  maid 
was  lying  on  the  bed.  But  He  did  not  go  alone, 
or  only  with  the  three  disciples  whom  He  had  taken 
into  the  house  with  Him  :  He  took  with  Him  the 
father  and  mother  of  the  maiden,  as  being  deeply 
interested  in  her  who  was  their  own  and  entitled 
to  see  all  that  happened  to  her. 

Then  He  took  her  by  the  hand  before  pronouncing 
the  resurrection  words  ;  for  He  did  not  wish  her  to 
be  startled  when  she  woke,  but  to  feel  the  support 
of  a  sympathetic  presence.  Many  a  one  in  an  ho?ir 
of  agitation   or  when   coming  out  of  a  swoon  has 


310  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


felt  how  it  steadies  and  strengthens  to  be  held  by 
a  firm  hand  and  to  look  into  a  calm  face. 

Thus  He  did  all  with  perfect  tact,  not  by  calcu- 
lation, but  with  the  instinct  of  delicate  feeling,  which 
guided  Him  at  every  turn  to  do  precisely  the  best 
thing.  Yet  there  was  no  straining  after  refinement. 
The  besetting  sin  of  emotional  natures  is  to  over- 
strain and  overdo.  But  how  healthy  and  manly 
was  the  feeling  of  Jesus  !  His  very  next  act,  after 
these  exquisite  touches,  was  this  :  "  He  commanded 
that  something  should  be  given  her  to  eat."  In  the 
same  way,  after  days  of  healing  and  preaching  in 
the  wilderness,  during  which  He  had  been  borne 
along  with  the  prophetic  enthusiasm,  it  was  He  who 
made  the  proposal  that  food  should  be  given  to 
the  multitude,  before  they  were  dispersed,  lest  they 
should  faint  by  the  way  ;  the  disciples,  though  far 
less  preoccupied,  never  thinking  of  such  a  thing. 
He  excelled  them  as  much  in  considerateness  and 
practicality  as  in  delicacy  of  feeling. 

V. 

The  last  kind  of  feeling  exhibited  by  our  Lord 
on  this  occasion  was  Modesty. 

After  the  miracle  was  performed,  "  He  charged 
them  straitly  that  no  man  should  know  it."  This 
is  the  sequel  to  many  a  work  of  wonder  in  His  life. 


CHRIST  AS  A   MAN  OF  FEELING.  311 

"  See  thou  tell  no  man,"  He  said  to  a  leper  whom 
He  had  cleansed.  "  See  that  no  man  know  it,"  He 
said  to  two  blind  men  whose  sight  He  had  restored. 
He  straitly  charged  those,  as  a  rule,  out  of  whom 
He  had  cast  devils  not  to  make  Him  known. 

Such  notices  abound  in  the  Gospels  ;  yet  I  am 
not  sure  that  I  have  ever  seen  the  true  explanation 
of  them  given.  All  kinds  of  elaborate  explanations 
have  been  attempted.  In  one  case,  for  example,  it 
is  said  that  He  forbade  the  man  who  had  been 
healed  to  mention  his  cure,  lest  it  should  do  him 
harm  by  puffing  him  up  ;  in  another,  because  his 
testimony  would  have  had  no  weight ;  in  a  third, 
because  it  was  not  yet  time  to  acknowledge  Himself 
to  be  the  Messiah  ;  and  so  on.  Such  are  the  sug- 
gestions made  by  learned  men,  and  there  may  be 
some  truth  in  them  all.  But  they  are  too  elaborate 
and  recondite  ;  the  real  explanation  lies  on  the 
surface.  It  is  simply  that,  while  so  great  a  worker, 
He  disliked  to  have  His  good  deeds  made  known. 
St.  Matthew  puts  this  so  plainly  that  it  ought  not  to 
have  been  overlooked.  After  mentioning  an  occasion 
when,  after  healing  great  multitudes.  He  charged 
them  that  they  should  not  make  Him  known,  the 
evangelist  adds  that  this  was  in  fulfilment  of  a 
prophecy  which  said,  "  He  shall  not  strive  nor  cry, 
neither  shall  any  one  hear  His  voice  in  the  street" 


3i2  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


It  is  one  of  the  penalties  of  public  work  for  God 
that  it  comes  to  be  talked  about,  and  vulgar  people 
make  a  sensation  of  it.  We  are  well  acquainted 
with  this  at  the  present  day,  when  nothing  is 
allowed  to  remain  private,  and,  if  a  man  does 
anything  in  the  least  out  of  the  common,  the 
minutest  details  of  his  life  are  dragged  out  and 
exposed  to  the  public  eye.  But  this  is  contrary 
to  the  very  genius  of  goodness  and  exposes  even 
those  occupied  with  the  holiest  work  to  the  temp- 
tation of  playing  for  the  praise  of  men  instead  of 
acting  humbly  in  the  eye  of  God.  Jesus  detested 
it.  He  would  have  been  hidden  if  He  could  ;  and 
it  was  a  heavy  cross  to  Him  that  the  more  He 
pressed  people  to  say  nothing  about  Him,  the  more 
widely  did  they  spread  His  fame.* 

Such  was  the  heart  of  Christ  as  it  is  laid  bare 
in  a  single  story.  By  taking  a  wider  sweep  we 
might  have  accumulated  more  illustrations.  But 
the  clue,  once  seized,  can  be  easily  followed  in  the 
Gospels,  where  the   notices  of  how  He  lelt  in   the 


•  There  is,  however,  a  shrinking  from  publicity  which  is 
vicious :  it  may  be  mere  fastidiousness  or  the  cowardice  which 
fears  responsibility.  And  there  is  an  enjoyment  of  popularity 
which  is  nothing  but  unselfish  absorption  in  the  triumph  of  a 
good  cause. 


CHRIST  A^  A   MAN  OF  FEELING.  313 


different  situations  in  which  He  was  placed  are  far 
more  numerous  than  anyone  whose  attention  has  not 
been  specially  directed  to  them  would  believe.* 

Nor  would  it  be  difficult  to  trace  the  refining 
influence  which  intercourse  with  Him  had  on  His 
disciples — how  they  learned  to  feel  about  things 
as  He  did.  There  is  no  other  influence  so  refining 
as  genuine  religion.  Where  the  Gospel  is  faith- 
fully preached  and  affectionately  believed,  there  is 
gradually  wrought  into  the  very  features  of  people 
the  stamp  of  the  Son  of  man.  The  friendship  of 
Jesus  breeds  the  gentle  heart. 

•  "  Christus  multum  et  vultu  et  nutu  docuit." — Bengel. 


XVII. 

CHRIST  AS   AN  INFLUENCE 


Matt.  vii.  28, 

„  viii.  27. 

„  ix.  8,  26,  31,  33 

M  xii.  23. 

„  xiii.  54. 

„  xxii.  22,  33, 

Mark  i.  45. 

,,  ii.  I,  2,  12, 

„  vii.  36,  37. 

„  ix.  15. 

..  XV  5. 

Luke  ii.  47,  48. 

„  iv.  IS,  22,  32,  37. 


Matt.  xiv.  i.  2. 
Mark  iv.  41. 

„     X.  32. 
Luke  V.  8,  26. 

»     xxiii.  45, 
John  xviii.  6. 


Mark  i.  23-27. 

„     V.  6,  7. 
Luke  vi.  11. 

„      xiii.  14. 


Matt.  ii.  r-3. 

„     iii.  13,  14. 

.,     iv.  19-22. 

,,     xxvii.  19,  55- 
Mark  i.  37. 

,      v.  18. 

„     xii.  37. 
Luke  i.  41 

,      viii.  40. 

„     xi.  27. 

„     xxii.  61,  62. 

„      xxiv.  32. 
John   vi.  68. 

»      vii. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

CHRIST   AS   AN   INFLUENCE. 

IN  the  foregoing  chapter  we  have  seen  the  feelings 
produced  in  the  sensitive  heart  of  Christ  by  the 
persons  and  things  He  was  brought  into  contact 
with.  In  the  present  one  we  have  to  deal  with  the 
feelings  which  He  produced,  by  His  presence  and 
actions,  in  the  hearts  of  men.  If  much  attention  is 
paid  in  the  records  of  His  life  to  the  depth  and 
variety  of  the  impressions  which  others  made  on 
Him,  no  less  surprising  is  the  number  of  notices 
they  contain  of  the  impressions  which  He  made  on 
others. 

Simeon  the  aged,  when  he  held  the  child  Jesus 
in  his  arms  in  the  Temple,  prophesied  that  by  con- 
tact with  Him  the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  would 
be  revealed  ;  and  this  was  one  of  the  most  out- 
standing features  of  His  subsequent  life.  None  who 
came  near  Him  could  remain  indifferent.  They 
might  hate  or  they  might  love,  they  might  admire 


3!8  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


or  they  might  scorn  Him  ;  but  in  any  case  they 
were  compelled  to  show  the  deepest  that  was  in 
them.  In  the  Talmud  there  is  a  fable  that  King 
Solomon  wore  a  ring  engraven  with  the  divine 
name,  and  everyone  towards  whom  he  turned  the 
inscription  was  forced  to  speak  out  whatever  he  was 
thinking  at  the  moment.  So  Jesus,  by  His  mere 
presence  among  men,  brought  to  the  surface  their 
deepest  thoughts  and  feelings  and  made  them  dis- 
play the  best  and  the  worst  which  their  hearts 
concealed. 

I. 

The  commonest  impression  which  He  is  narrated 
in  the  Gospels  to  have  excited  is  Wonder.  "  They 
marvelled  at  Him  ; "  "  they  wondered  ; "  "  they  were 
astonished  with  a  great  astonishment" — such  are 
the  phrases  which  recur  continually  in  the  records 
of  His  life.  Sometimes  it  was  at  His  teaching  that 
they  marvelled — at  its  gracefulness,  originality  and 
power — or  at  the  knowledge  displayed  by  one 
who  had  never  learned.  Still  more  noisy  was  their 
wonder  at  His  miracles.  People  ran  together  to  the 
spot  where  a  miracle  was  taking  place  ;  those  who 
had  been  cured  spread  abroad  the  fame  of  what  had 
happened  to  themselves;  and,  wherever  He  went, 
there  rose  around   Him  a  cloud  of  notoriety. 


CHRIST  AS  AN  INFLUENCE.  319 

Though  this  was  the  commonest  impression  made 
on  people's  minds,  it  was  far  from  the  most  valuable. 
To  Himself  it  was  an  unpleasant  necessity.  His 
soul  shrank  from  the  importunities  of  the  crowd,  and 
He  gauged  the  depth  of  their  shallow  adulation. 
The  one  advantage  of  it,  for  the  sake  of  which  He 
submitted  to  the  necessity,  was  that  it  brought  to 
Him,  among  the  rest,  those  who  really  wanted  Him 
and  whom  He  wanted — as  in  the  case  of  the  woman 
who  came  behind  Him  in  the  crowd,  when  He  was 
on  the  way  to  the  house  of  Jairus,  and  touched  the 
hem  of  His  garment,  that  she  might  be  healed.  The 
crowd  was  thronging  Him,  many  no  doubt  touching 
His  very  person;  but  they  got  nothing  from  this 
contact.  She  came  in  dire  need  and  trem.bling  faith, 
and,  at  her  touch,  virtue  went  out  of  Him  and  healed 
her.  But  she  would  hardly  have  been  there  but  for 
the  crowd  :  it  was  by  the  noise  and  excitement  that 
she  was  informed  that  He  was  near ;  at  all  events 
the  crowd  supplied  her  with  her  opportunity. 

This  may  still  be  the  one  advantage  which  com- 
pensates for  the  many  drawbacks  of  the  rumour  that 
rises  round  religion  in  some  of  its  forms.  The 
sensation  is  a  bell  that  rings  into  church  those  who 
need  Christ.  The  appearance  of  popular  preachers 
is  trumpeted  abroad,  and  crowds  flock  to  hear  them. 
When  a  distinguished  evangelist  appears  or  a  revival 


320  IMAGO   CHRIST  I. 


of  religion  breaks  out,  the  country  is  moved  with 
wonder.  Much  of  this  noise  is  silly  enough,  but 
some  may  derive  advantage  from  it.  While  the 
multitudes  throng,  one  here  and  there  touches.  The 
crowd  comes  talking  and  buzzing  out  of  church, 
but  someone,  hurrying  silently  through  the  throng 
to  escape  into  solitude,  carries  away  a  blessing. 

II. 

Sometimes  wonder  deepened  into  Fear.  Thus, 
when  He  rose  from  sleep  during  the  storm  and  re- 
buked the  winds  and  waves,  it  is  said,  "  they  feared 
exceedingly ; "  and,  when  He  raised  to  life  the 
widow's  son  at  Nain,  "  there  came  a  fear  on  all." 

From  other  parts  of  Scripture  also  it  may  be 
inferred  that  this  was  the  natural  result  of  wit- 
nessing a  miracle.  A  miracle,  seen  close  at  hand, 
produced  the  sense  of  the  immediate  presence  of 
the  Almighty  ;  and  any  unmistakable  manifestation 
of  the  divine  excites  fear.  At  loud  and  sudden 
thunder  there  falls  an  awe  over  the  spirit ;  and  I 
have  heard  those  who  have  experienced  an  earth- 
quake describe  the  sensation  of  terror  it  awakens 
as  unique  and  quite  beyond  the  control  of  the  will. 
It  is  the  sense  of  being  utterly  helpless  in  the  grasp 
of  immeasurable  power.  Those  who  saw  Christ  per- 
form a  miracle  felt  that  there  was  in  Him  that  which 


CHRIST  AS  AN  INFLUENCE.  321 

could  do  what  it  pleased  with  them  and  with  nature 
round  about  them  ;  and  it  was  this  vague  impression 
of  the  divine  in  Him  which  made  them  afraid. 

But  the  fear  He  inspired  was  at  other  times  a 
genuine  tribute  to  the  majesty  of  His  human 
character ;  and  we  get  no  more  authentic  glimpses 
of  the  moral  stature  of  Jesus  than  by  observing  the 
impressions  which  He  produced  on  the  minds  of 
others  in  the  great  moments  of  His  life.  At  the 
gate  of  Gethsemane,  when  He  encountered  the  band 
sent  to  arrest  Him,  the  traces  of  the  experiences 
which  He  had  passed  through  in  the  garden  were 
still  upon  Him,  and  the  effect  of  His  rapt  and  tragic 
air  was  extraordinary.  At  the  sight  of  Him  "  they 
went  backward  and  fell  to  the  ground."  All  through 
the  last  six  months  of  His  life,  indeed,  He  seems 
habitually  to  have  been  invested,  through  brooding 
on  His  approaching  fate,  with  an  awful  dignity.  His 
great  purpose  sharpened  His  features,  straightened 
His  figure  and  quickened  His  step  ;  and  some- 
times, as  He  pushed  ahead  of  the  Twelve,  absorbed 
in  His  own  thoughts,  "  they  were  amazed  ;  and,  as 
they  followed,  they  were  afraid." 

Earlier,  however,  even  in  the  serene  beginning 
of  His  ministry,  there  were  manifestations  of  this 
overpowering  moral  dignity.  When  He  drove  the 
buyers    and   sellers   out  of  the  Temple,  in   the  first 

21 


-^il  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


access  of  His  prophetic  inspiration,  why  did  they 
flee  crouching  before  Him  ?  They  were  many, 
while  He  was  but  one ;  they  were  wealthy  and 
influential,  while  He  was  but  a  peasant.  Yet  there 
was  that  in  Him  which  they  never  thought  of  re- 
sisting. They  felt  how  awful  goodness  is.  There 
is  a  majesty  in  virtue  indignant  before  which  the 
loftiest  sinners  cower.  I  have  known  a  youth  from 
the  country  enter  an  office  in  the  city,  where  the 
daily  conversation  was  so  foul  and  profane  that  it 
would  almost  have  disgraced  the  hulks ;  but  a 
month  after  his  arrival  not  a  man  in  the  place  dared 
to  utter  an  unchaste  word  when  he  was  present. 
Yet  he  had  scarcely  spoken  a  syllable  of  reproof ; 
it  was  simply  the  dignity  of  manly  goodness  that 
quelled  conscious  iniquity. 

HI. 

The  fear  excited  by  Jesus  sometimes  deepened 
into  Repulsion.  The  fear  He  caused  was  the  fear  of 
the  finite  in  the  grasp  of  the  Infinite.  But  those  who 
felt  themselves  helpless  in  the  hands  of  the  Almighty 
felt  themselves  at  the  same  time  exposed  in  the 
sight  of  the  All-seeing  and  the  All-pure. 

As  the  ignorant  speak  with  fluency  in  the  com- 
pany of  the  ignorant,  but,  if  introduced  among  the 
learned,  stammer  and   become  afraid  of  their   own 


CHRIST  AS  AN  INFLUENCE.  323 

voices  ;  or  as  the  beggar,  who  is  quite  unconscious 
of  his  rags  when  moving  among  his  equals,  if 
brought  into  a  drawing-room  filled  with  well-dressed 
people,  becomes  suddenly  aware  of  every  patch  on 
his  coat  and  every  hole  in  his  looped  and  windowed 
raggedness  ;  so,  when  confronted  with  spotless  holi- 
ness, the  human  soul  turns  round  upon  itself  and 
recognises  its  imperfections.  It  was  this  which  made 
St.  Peter,  when  he  saw  the  miraculous  draught  of 
fishes,  put  up  his  hands  in  deprecation  and  cry  to 
Jesus,  "  Depart  from  me,  for  I  am  a  sinful  man,  O 
Lord."  And  for  the  same  reason  the  Gadarenes, 
when  they  beheld  the  miracle  which  Jesus  had 
wrought  in  their  midst,  besought  Him  to  depart  out 
of  their  coasts.  They  felt  the  instinctive  shrinking 
of  the  guilty  from  the  holy. 

In  the  tragedy  of  Fa?ist,  Margaret,  who  is  meant 
to  represent  virgin  purity,  cannot  bear  the  sight  of 
Mephistopheles,  though  he  is  disguised  as  a  knight 
and  she  has  no  idea  who  he  really  is.  She  shrinks 
from  him  instinctively  : — 

In  all  my  life  not  anything 

Has  given  my  heart  so  sharp  a  sting 

As  that  man's  loathsome  visage. 

Christ's  presence  produced  precisely  the  opposite 
effect :  in  the  unholy  it  awoke  repulsion  and  the 
desire   to  flee  from   Him.     As   He  held  down  His 


324  IMAGO  CHRISTI. 


head  with  burning  shame  and  wrote  on  the  ground, 
when  the  sinful  woman  was  brought  to  Him,  her 
accusers,  at  length  dimly  recognising  what  was 
going  on  in  His  mind,  grew  afraid  and,  "  being  con- 
victed in  their  own  conscience,  went  out  one  by  one, 
beginning  at  the  eldest,  even  unto  the  last  ;  and 
Jesus  was  left  alone,  and  the  woman  standing  in  the 
midst."  When  He  drew  near  to  possessed  persons. 
His  mere  proximity  threw  them  into  paroxysms  of 
excitement,  and  they  entreated  Him  to  depart  and 
not  torment  them  ;  for  merely  to  see  one  so  holy 
was  a  torment. 

The  presence  of  superlative  goodness,  if  it  does 
not  subdue,  stirs  up  the  wild  beasts  which  lurk  in 
the  subterranean  caverns  of  the  human  heart  into 
angry  opposition  to  itself.  Christ  made  the  evil  in 
those  who  opposed  Him  show  itself  at  its  very  worst. 
Pilate,  for  example,  only  applied  to  the  case  of  Jesus 
the  same  principles  of  administration  which  he  had 
made  use  of  in  hundreds  of  other  cases — the  prin- 
ciples of  the  self-seeker  and  time-server  dressed  in 
the  garb  of  justice  ;  but  never  did  these  principles 
appear  in  all  their  ghastly  unrighteousness  till  he 
released  Barabbas  and  handed  over  Jesus  to  the 
executioner.  The  inhumanity  and  hollowness  ot 
Sadducee  and  Pharisee  were  never  seen  in  their  true 
colours  till  the  light  which  streamed  from  Jesus  fell 


CHRIST  AS  AN  INFLUENCE.  325 

on  them  and  exposed  every  spot  and  wrinkle  of  the 
hypocrite's  robe.  Christ's  very  meekness  provoked 
them  to  deeper  scorn  of  His  pretensions  ;  His  silence 
under  their  accusations  made  them  gnash  their  teeth 
with  baffled  malice  ;  the  castigation  of  His  polemic 
made  them  cling  to  their  errors  with  more  desperate 
tenacity. 

Thus  are  hearts  hardened  by  the  very  excellence 
of  those  with  whom  they  have  to  deal.  As  Ahab, 
when  he  met  Elijah,  hissed  at  him,  "  Hast  thou 
found  me,  O  mine  enemy  ? "  so  the  mere  sense  that 
his  godly  mother  is  praying  for  him,  or  that  good 
people  are  planning  for  his  spiritual  welfare,  may 
excite  in  one  who  is  going  determinedly  down  the 
broad  road  a  diabolical  scorn  and  rage.  The  con- 
tempt with  which  one  who  bears  witness  for  God 
is  flouted  by  his  comrades  is  often  only  an  evidence 
that  they  feel  his  presence  a  reproach  to  their  own 
evil  characters,  and  it  is  a  real,  though  undesigned, 
tribute  to  his  superiority.  "  Marvel  not  if  the  world 
hate  you  ;  ye  know  that  it  hated  Me  before  it  hated 
you." 

IV. 

Although  the  presence  of  Jesus  repelled  some,  it 
exerted  on  others  the  most  powerful  attraction,  and 
the    most    characteristic    feature    of  His    character 


J26  IMAGO   CHRIST/. 


was  Moral  Attractiveness.  He  repelled  those  who 
were  wedded  to  their  sins  and  unwilling  to  abandon 
them,  but  He  attracted  all  who  in  any  degree  were 
feeling  after  a  new  and  better  life. 

Strong  as  the  power  of  sin  is  in  the  soul  of  man, 
it  never  altogether  overcomes  the  opposite  principle. 
There  is  that  in  every  man  which  opposes  his  sin 
and  protests  against  it.  It  reminds  the  prodigal  of 
the  Father's  house,  from  which  he  has  wandered, 
and  makes  him  feel  the  shame  of  serving  among  the 
swine.  It  warns  him  in  solitary  hours  that  the  sin 
to  which  he  is  attached  is  his  worst  enemy,  and  that 
he  will  never  be  happy  till  he  is  separated  from  it. 

This  redeeming  principle  in  human  nature  is  the 
conscience  ;  and  without  its  feeling  for  what  is  holy 
and  divine  the  condition  of  man  would  be  hopeless. 
But  it  exists  even  in  the  wicked  ;  who  cannot  withhold 
their  admiration  from  the  truly  good  and,  though 
following  the  worse,  approve  the  better,  course. 
It  makes  men  afraid  and  ashamed  of  their  own 
sin,  even  when  they  are  most  abandoned  to  it.  It 
may  be  stimulated  by  denunciations  of  sin,  like  those 
of  the  Baptist ;  but  it  is  touched  even  more  effect- 
ively by  the  sight  of  exceptional  purity  or  by  the 
compassion  which  pities  ungodliness.  This  reminds 
man  of  something  he  has  lost  ;  it  causes  the  sinful 
enjoyments    with    which   he   is    occupied    to   appear 


CHRIST  AS  AN  INFLUENCE.  327 

cheap  and  vulgar  ;  it  makes  him  uneasy  and  dis- 
satisfied. 

Jesus  naturally  exerted  this  kind  of  influence  in 
the  strongest  degree.  Wherever  there  existed  any 
tenderness  or  susceptibility  towards  what  is  high 
and  pure,  it  was  stimulated  by  His  presence.  Con- 
science, hearing  His  voice  in  its  prison,  woke  up 
and  came  to  the  windows  to  demand  emancipation. 
As  the  presence  of  a  physician  armed  with  a  cure 
for  some  virulent  disease  excites  a  sensation  among 
those  afflicted  with  the  malady,  who  communicate  the 
news  of  relief  to  one  another  with  the  swiftness  of 
a  secret  telegraphy,  so,  wherever  Jesus  went,  the 
heavy-laden  and  the  aspiring  heard  of  Him  and  found 
Him.  In  publicans  and  sinners,  and  even  in  Phari- 
sees, unaccustomed  movements  showed  themselves  : 
Nicodemus  sought  Him  by  night  ;  Zacchaeus 
climbed  into  the  sycamore  tree  to  see  Him  ;  the 
woman  who  was  a  sinner  stole  to  His  feet  to  bathe 
them  with  her  tears. 

Moral  attractiveness  is  of  two  kinds — the  passive 
and  the  active. 

There  is  a  goodness  which  draws  men  by  the 
mere  force  of  its  own  beauty.  It  is  not  thinking  of 
any  such  effect ;  for  it  is  inward  and  self-absorbed  ; 
its  attention  is  concentrated  on  an  inner  vision  and 
occupied    with   following   a   secret   law.       It   would 


328  IMAGO  CHRIST  I. 


never  think  of  crediting  itself  with  an  influence  on 
others  ;  for  it  is  not  aware  of  its  own  beauty,  and 
that  which  sets  off  all  its  qualities  is  the  ornament 
of  humility.  This  is  the  goodness  especially  of  the 
feminine  virtues,  and  the  characters  which  exhibit 
it  in  a  marked  degree  have  always  a  womanly 
element.  "  Such  have  many  of  us  seen — some- 
times in  humble  life,  faithful  and  devoted,  loyal  to 
man  and  full  of  melody  in  their  hearts  to  God,  their 
life  one  act  of  praise ;  some  in  a  higher  sphere, 
living  amid  the  pride  of  life,  but  wholly  untouched 
by  its  spells  ;  free  and  unensnared  souls,  that  had 
never  been  lighted  up  with  the  false  lights  and 
aspirations  of  human  life,  or  been  fascinated  by  the 
evil  of  the  world,  though  sympathizing  with  all  that 
is  good  in  it,  and  enjoying  it  becomingly  ;  who  give 
us,  as  far  as  human  character  now  can  do,  an  insight 
into  the  realms  of  light,  the  light  that  comes  from 
neither  sun  nor  moon,  but  from  Him  who  is  the 
light  everlasting."  * 

Of  such  characters  Jesus  is  the  head  and  crown. 
His  image  shines  through  all  the  centuries  with  the 
beauty  of  holiness.  This  is  why  the  eyes  of  men, 
sweeping  the  fields  of  history  in  search  of  excellence, 
always  rest  at  last  on  Him   as  its  perfect  and  final 


MozLEY,  University  Sermons. 


CHRIST  AS  AN  INFLUENCE.  329 

embodiment.  This  is  why  none  can  write  of  Christ 
without  falling  into  a  kind  of  rapture  and  ecstasy 
of  admiration,  and  even  those  who  are  bitter  and 
blustering  in  their  opposition  to  everything  Christian 
grow  hushed  and  reverent  when  they  speak  of  Christ 
Himself.  No  pen  can  fully  render  the  impression 
made  on  the  reader  by  His  life  in  the  Gospels.  It 
is  easy  to  make  a  catalogue  of  the  qualities  which 
entered  into  His  human  character ;  but  the  blend- 
ing and  the  harmony  and  the  perfection,  the  delight 
and  the  subduing  charm,  who  can  express }  Yet 
all  this  walked  the  earth  in  the  flesh,  and  men 
and  women  saw  it  with  their  eyes ! 

The  moral  attractiveness  of  the  active  sort  influ- 
ences in  a  different  way.  There  are  natures  which  we 
call  magnetic.  People  cannot  help  being  drawn  to 
them  and  following  where  they  go.  Whatever  such 
natures  do,  they  act  with  all  their  might,  and  others 
are  drawn  into  the  rush  and  current  of  their  course. 
It  may  be  an  evil  course,  and  then  they  are  ring- 
leaders in  sin  ;  for  the  kingdom  of  darkness  has  its 
missionaries  as  well  as  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  Like 
other  forces  of  human  nature,  this  one  requires  to  be 
redeemed  and  consecrated.  Then  it  becomes  the  spirit 
of  the  missionary,  the  apostle,  the  religious  pioneer. 

Nothing  in  the  memoirs  of  Jesus  is  more  sur- 
prising   than    the    apparent     ease    with    which    He 


330  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


induced  men  to  quit  their  occupations  and  follow 
Him,  John  and  James  are  in  their  ship  mending 
their  nets  ;  but,  when  He  calls,  they  instantly  leave 
the  ship  and  nets  and  their  father  Zebedee  and  go 
after  Him.  Matthew  is  at  the  seat  of  custom,  and 
that  is  a  seat  not  easily  left  ;  but  no  sooner  is 
he  called  than  he  forsakes  all  and  follows  Jesus. 
ZacchjEus,  who  had  been  an  extortioner  for  a  life- 
time, was  no  sooner  asked  to  receive  Him  into  his 
house  than  he  began  to  make  proposals  and  promises 
of  the  utmost  generosity.  Jesus  was  engaged  in  a 
splendid  work,  whose  idea  and  results  touched  the 
imagination  of  all  who  were  capable  of  anything  noble. 
He  was  wholly  absorbed  in  it  ;  and  to  see  unselfish 
devotion  always  awakens  imitation.  He  was  the 
author  and  leader  of  a  new  movement,  which  grew 
around  Him,  and  the  enthusiasm  of  those  who 
had  joined  it  drew  others  in.  The  same  power 
has  belonged  in  remarkable  measure  to  all  great 
spiritual  leaders — to  St  Paul,  to  Savonarola,  to 
Luther,  to  Wesley  and  many  more ;  who,  filled 
themselves  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  have  been  able  to 
lift  men  above  the  instincts  of  pleasure  and  comfort 
and  make  them  willing  to  deny  themselves  for  a 
great  cause.  And  no  earnest  life,  in  which  the 
enthusiasm  of  Jesus  burns,  fails  to  exercise  in 
some  degree   the   same   influence. 


CHRIST  AS  AN  INFLUENCE.  331 

It  is  one  of  the  healthiest  features  of  our  day 
that  all  thinking  people  are  growing  sensitive  about 
their  influence.  To  many  the  chief  dread  of  sin 
arises  from  perceiving  that  they  cannot  sin  them- 
selves without  directly  or  indirectly  involving 
others ;  and  it  would  be  to  them  the  greatest  of 
satisfactions  to  be  able  to  believe  that  they  are 
doing  good  to  those  with  whom  they  are  brought 
into   contact,   and    not  harm. 

This  is  a  feeling  worthy  of  the  solemn  nature  of 
our  earthly  existence,  and  it  ought  certainly  to  be 
one  of  the  guiding  principles  of  life.  Yet  it  is  not 
without  its  dangers.  If  allowed  too  prominent  a 
place  among  our  motives,  it  would  crush  the  mind 
with  an  intolerable  weight  and  cause  conduct  to  ap- 
pear so  responsible  that  the  spring  of  energy  would 
be  broken.  It  might  easily  betray  us  into  living 
so  much  for  effect  as  to  fall  into  hypocrisy.  The 
healthiest  influence  is  unsought  and  unconscious.  It 
is  not  always  when  we  are  trying  to  impress  others 
that  we  impress  them  most.  They  elude  the  direct 
efforts  which  we  make,  but  they  are  observing  us 
when  we  are  not  thinking  of  it.  They  detect  from 
an  unconscious  gesture  or  chance  word  the  secret 
we  are  trying  to  conceal.  They  know  quite  well 
whether  our  being  is  a  palace  fair  within  or  only 
a    shabby    structure    with    a    pretentious    elevation. 


332  IMAGO   CHRISTI. 


They  estimate  the  mass  and  weight  of  our  charac- 
ter with  curious  accuracy;  and  it  is  this  alone  that 
really  tells.  Our  influence  is  the  precise  equivalent 
of  our  human   worth  or  worthlessness. 

A  man  may  strive  for  influence  and  miss  it.  But 
let  him  grow  within  himself — in  self-control,  in  con- 
scientiousness, in  purity  and  submission — and  then 
he  will  not  miss  it.  Every  step  of  inward  progress 
makes  us  worth  more  to  the  world  and  to  every 
cause  with  which  we  may  be  identified.  The  road 
to  influence  is  simply  the  highway  of  duty  and 
loyalty.  Let  a  man  press  nearer  to  Christ  and  open 
his  nature  more  widely  to  admit  the  energy  of 
Christ,  and,  whether  he  knows  it  or  not — it  is 
better  perhaps  if  he  does  not  know  it — he  will 
certainly  be  growing  in  power  for  God  with  men, 
and  for  men  with  God.  "  Abide  in  Me,  and  I  in 
you  :  as  the  branch  cannot  bear  fruit  of  itself 
except  it  abide  in  the  vine,  no  more  can  ye  except 
ye  abide  in    Me." 


Finis. 


DATE  DUE 

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Imago  Christi :  the  example  of  Jesus 

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